The Ties That Bind
by Shendra
Summary: An old friend drops back into Snape's life after being thought dead for 17 years. She isn't back for good, though. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Can Snape find Katie before Voldemort realizes their secret?
1. A Sudden Return

**The Ties That Bind (1/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay?

CHAPTER ONE 

It was noon and the sun shone brightly over the midday activities. People walked down the street, oblivious to the two men sitting silently on the bench under the apple tree. If the passing Muggles could see these men, they would surely stop and stare. The older man sat impassively staring into the office building across the street. He was dressed all in black, save the shimmering silver invisibility cloak shielding him from prying eyes. A long, slender stick was clutched in his right hand, fingers gripping over its smooth surface. His name was Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Next to him, Kevin McNeel squirmed restlessly in his dark blue robes and silver invisibility cloak. With short, sandy blonde hair, Kevin looked like the complete opposite of Severus, whose limp black mane was just long enough to brush the collar of his robes. 

"Sit still!" Severus hissed at Kevin when he shifted listlessly for the hundredth time. 

"I'm trying but this bench is uncomfortable! Why can't we just go in and take her now?" came the reply as Kevin gestured towards the office where a dark haired female came into view, carrying a stack of papers. 

"You know why, Kevin. Don't make me repeat myself. We will wait." 

So they sat. Severus stared at the dark haired female, his black eyes following her as she spoke with her coworkers, and when they brushed her off rudely with little disregard, his glare would have surely sent them running if they had been able to see it. After a minute or so, Kevin stood up. 

"I need to stretch my muscles. Don't worry, Severus," he said, sensing rather than seeing the piercing glare Severus gave him, "I won't do anything stupid."

Severus smirked under his cloak, highly doubtful. Sitting back, he watched the girl walk from office to office, delivering files to various coworkers. Eventually, she settled down at her own desk and started to go through the folders she'd been left with. At this, Severus pulled a folder from his robes and flipped through it, remembering his most recent meeting with the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

*****

"Severus!" the old Headmaster stood to greet Severus, taking his hand in a friendly manner before beckoning him to sit in an overstuffed gray chair near the fireplace next to his desk. "I'm glad you agreed to coming. There are some things we need to discuss…" 

Ahah, though Severus, seeing through the smile Dumbledore wore that did nothing to mask his businesslike tone. Nodding anyway, Severus sat and folded his hands in his lap. Dumbledore wanted something, he could sense it. As if for confirmation, Dumbledore pulled a yellowed folder from a drawer in his desk.

"Kate Hillian..." Dumbledore read clearly from the edge of the folder and Severus immediately recognized it as an ancient school record. Feeling the Headmaster's eyes bore into him from across the desk, he did some quick thinking. It was almost a full minute before he realized why the name had struck a familiar chord deep inside.

"Kate… Kate.." he repeated the name a couple times before full realization sunk in. "You don't mean Katie.. do you? 

Dumbledore nodded and smiled a mischievous smile. "Yes, the one and the same. I believe you attended Hogwarts with her?"

Severus mumbled in assent, his attention focused on the small photograph accompanying the folder. Katie was sitting on a park bench by herself in conservative Muggle clothes, with her knees pulled up to her chest. It must have been taken at least 10 years ago, but the memory of her face was still fresh in his mind. "Sir, I'm not sure I understand why I'm here.." he said softly, glancing up from the picture. 

"Ah, yes." Dumbledore replied, picking up another folder and looking through it. "Do you know what happened to Miss Hillian after she left Hogwarts?" he didn't have to look at Severus see him shaking his head. "Well then, I shall explain. Not many people know this, and not because it's common. It just wasn't made public. You remember that shortly after you left school, Voldemort began to become active again, do you not?" 

At this, Severus looked up, barely unable to contain his shocked expression. "She didn't... become a Death-"

"No," Dumbledore quickly cut him off, "She didn't become a Death Eater, Severus. But she was attacked by one." 

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore continued.

"From what all of the Aurors involved in investigating the situation have recorded, it didn't seem to be a planned attack. It appeared to be one of those cases when one is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not many people know much about what happened that night, and from the evidence we had, no one knows exactly what happened. You see, Miss Hillian was out with a friend late one night, walking home, when they were cornered on a quiet street by an angry Death Eater. We have every reason to believe that he had been drinking quite heavily, and was feeling particularly violent. It was dark, and late, and well…"

Dumbledore sighed and stared into the fireplace, as if looking for words

"From what we have gathered, the Death Eater first tied Miss Hillian and her friend up, then… well, he cruelly raped the friend, a young girl by the name of Jenna Luette. After that, he subjected Miss Luette to the Cruciatus curse several times before she finally gave up and willed herself to die." 

Severus's eyes were wide and he opened and closed his mouth several times before he found words. "But... you can't will yourself to die.. can you? And Katie saw all this?"

With another sigh, Dumbledore turned to look at him, his blue eyes full of sadness, "It's very rare that someone's will to die will be high enough to actually kill them, but it is indeed possible. Very few people have ever actually been pushed so far as to be able to achieve it, but it has been known to happen before. And yes, Miss Hillian was forced to watch her friend die. After the Death Eater had killed Miss Luette, he turned on Kate, apparently set on treating her to the same fate. But.." he paused, looking perplexed, "That's all we know. Only Miss Hillian knows how she got away. When the Ministry found them, she was gone, and the Death Eater was dead. The cause of death has always remained a mystery to us, because no spells were revealed to have been cast on him. He was just dead. After that night, Miss Hillian disappeared. No one knew where she went. She never went back to her house, never contacted her family, or any of her friends. She never went back to work, and never even contacted anyone from the wizarding world as far as we know. She just… vanished."

Severus stared across the room at the Headmaster, at a loss for words. This was Katie. The quiet, but highly intelligent girl he remembered from Hogwarts. They had spent almost every minute together since they met on the train. That day came back to him as clearly as yesterday…

(_Seventeen years ago…)_

Katie had stumbled into the compartment where he sat alone, dragging her trunk in behind her. After getting it through the doorway, she heaved it over to the trunk rack and shoved it inside. Severus sat next to the window, staring at her. As she dragged her trunk past him, he could just read the name Kate Hillian written in delicate gold lettering on the side of her trunk. Silently, he watched her move, noticing how her black hair glittered in the sunlight, ending just past her shoulder blades. She was dressed in simple Muggle clothes, a light green sweater over a plain black t-shirt and faded blue jeans. When she turned to look at him, it was like he'd been hit by lightning. Those dark blue eyes looked right into his, he heard a soft voice in his mind. 

_Oh my God_, it said.

"What?" he replied out loud, his eyes widening.

"Huh?" she looked confused.

"You said 'Oh my God'."

"No I didn't." her eyes searched his. _What is he talking about?_

"There! You did it again! How do you talk without moving your lips?" now he looked confused. He could have sworn he heard her voice, but she hadn't even opened her mouth.

"No I didn't…. wait…" she stared at him thoughtfully. _Can you hear me?_

"Yes. How do you do that?" 

Katie said nothing. She leaned back against the side of the seats across the aisle from him and stared. After a minute, he heard her voice in his head again. _I think I know what's going on. What's your name? You don't have to say it out loud, just try to think it._

Severus stared back at her in his black shirt and black jeans. His black hair was limply hanging around his face, partially covering his eyes. What the heck was she talking about? _What do you mean?_

_See?_ her voice echoed _What's your name?_

_Severus. Severus Snape._

_Severus, have you ever heard of telepathy?_

_What?? _His eyes grew even wider, if that was possible. Katie thought he looked a bit silly like this and had to repress her giggles. The shocked look didn't seem to suit him very well. But if this is what she thought it was…. _I've read about this, Severus. Somewhere in a book, it said there was a very old magic called telepathy, where some people were known to be able to speak to each other through thoughts, instead of speech. It's very rare and highly unlikely that anyone is able to find someone they can speak with telepathically without studying the art of telepathy first. Have you ever studied it?_

At this, Severus didn't respond. He broke eye contact with her, and looked down at his hands. He'd heard of telepathy a long, long time ago, having found it in one of the old books in his grandparents attic. When he'd asked them about it, they had told him that it was a very old brand of magic, and quite possibly extinct, as no one had reported having the ability in the past century. One of the oldest telepathers had been Salazar Slytherin himself, they'd said, using his powers to invade the minds of the monsters he created. It had been the only way he could control them, they told him. Severus had found all this out when he was just 9, and now, two years later, found it all very hard to believe.

Katie sat in the seat across the aisle from him, but still stared over. _Severus?_

_What?_

_Do you… do you believe me?_

He sat there for a minute, just thinking to himself. At first, he didn't know what to believe. Here, this girl had appeared out of nowhere, speaking in his mind, and he in hers. He had no idea who she was, and no real reason to trust her. But, as he tried to convince himself, there really was no other possible explanation that he knew of. 

With a resigning sigh, he looked back at her. _Yes. I believe you._

After that day, they became inseparable. Every possible moment was spent practicing their newfound ability. At first, it only worked if they were in the same room as each other. After they got to know each other a bit more, it would work from different rooms, then different towers. By the end of their third year, they knew each other inside and out, and could talk to each other from practically anywhere. All they had to do was picture the other in their mind, and just think.

Back to the present day…)

Severus thought about all of this silently, staring down at the photo of the quiet girl he'd known. All throughout their time at Hogwarts, they only had each other. If the other Slytherins had their suspicions, they didn't let on. Both of them had always been treated like outsiders before, and even more so now. Neither had any friends besides each other, and so it was most likely that none of Severus's classmates even remembered Katie now. The Gryffindors, already long-time enemies of the Slytherins, had shown no mercy either. Severus had lost count of the times he had been bullied by the other students. Katie had been the only one who would ever look twice at him, talk to him, even spend time with him. She knew him better than anyone else, and had stood by him when everyone else turned against him. Only at the end of their seventh year had their paths parted. In the beginning, he thought that it would be easy, just saying goodbye, and figured he would see her again soon. It was only after she kissed him on the cheek and told him that she hoped they would meet again, that he broke down, feeling as though he had been ripped in two. Watching her walk away, he had felt half empty, like half of him had just been drained leaving him useless and alone. There had been times when he had tried to find her, tried to contact her, but it was like Dumbledore said. She just seemed to have disappeared. She never replied to any of his owls, even though he knew she'd gotten the letters.

Smirking, Severus mumbled "So that explains why she never wrote."

The corner of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He couldn't figure out if Severus was making a joke or not, so he figured the best response would be to just nod and smile. 

"Sir," Severus said while flipping the folder casually, "If no one has seen her since she disappeared, why did you call me in here? Certainly you don't expect me to find her…"

"I hadn't said no one's seen her since then." Smiling slightly, Dumbledore paused for effect. "I merely said she never contacted anyone. She didn't have to, though. One of my sources reported that they'd seen someone resembling her in a Muggle city outside of London. She's been keeping a low profile, but somehow I don't think that it's her intention." 

"What do you mean?" Severus was confused. He didn't understand why Katie would go into hiding unless she thought someone was after her. "Wait, you don't think she believes Voldemort's after her, do you?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not exactly, no."

Looking thoughtful, he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Sometimes, Severus, a person will experience something so horrific, so traumatizing, that they will do whatever it takes to block the memory out of their mind. And sometimes, once they manage to get rid of that memory, most of their other memories go with it. It's not always intentional, and there have been cases where a wizard or witch doesn't even realize the memories are gone… after all, they don't remember them at all." With a simple wave of his hand, Dumbledore continued. "That is what I believe happened to Miss Hillian. Now…" folding his hands in front of him, he leaned forward again." This is where you come in." 

After a brief explanation as to what he wanted Severus to do, Dumbledore stood up. "Also… there is someone I want you to take with you on this… mission. His name is Kevin McNeel and he's Fudge's nephew." 

"Who?" Severus didn't recognize the name off the top of his head, although he felt he should. He tried to think of where he'd heard it, but couldn't.

"He's Cornelius's Fudge's brother-in-law's son. He graduated from Hogwarts about 8 years ago, and has been doing simple work for the Ministry ever since. I received an owl a few weeks ago, from Fudge, saying that Mister McNeel wanted to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position this year.. he wanted to know if I'd consider the boy. I think this is the perfect opportunity to test his trustworthiness."

Nodding, Severus looked away, still trying to think of what he remembered about the boy. He'd been the Potion's professor for almost 12 years, and had taught Kevin when he attended Hogwarts, but didn't remember much about him. It seemed like so long ago.

Dumbledore continued, "Take him with you, and let me know how he does. He has orders not to interfere with the Muggle relations, just to accompany you and assist you as needed."

"Yes, sir. I'll keep an eye on him." After a minute's silence, Severus spoke up. "Sir? If.. well, if Katie has managed to block out her memories… does that mean she doesn't know she's a witch? What does she still remember?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily and stared past Severus's chair thoughtfully. "As to that, I really have no idea. She may or may not even remember who she really is. If that is so, it may be quite traumatic to bring back those old memories, especially if not done just right. That's why I need her brought here. I've heard word that Voldemort's supporters have become a little active in the past few days. I need you to get her as soon as possible, so if need be, you can leave again as part of the Plan. Right now, I need to write to Fudge to let him know what's going on, and I trust you know what to do. Just…" Dumbledore picked up his quill, preparing to write the letter, "be careful, Severus."

Back on the bench, Severus looked up from the folder at the girl now sitting at a desk. "So," he thought to himself, "this is Katie." She looked pretty in a dark gray pinstriped skirt and jacket suit, with a plain white shirt underneath. Her long hair hung over her shoulders, wavy and well-kept. It was hard to believe this was the same girl he'd known in school, with the sweaters and jeans they'd always worn. It was nice seeing her this way, though. Strange, but nice. 

His thoughts drifted back to Hogwarts and all the late nights spent sitting in the common room with her. The first few months, they had only used their telepathic ability to just talk to each other about their thoughts, their pasts, and their ambitions for the future. Once lessons were in full swing, they realized how much they could help each other with assignments and tests. During tests, they would give each other answers to the questions. In the dead silence of the classrooms during those tests, no one ever suspected anything was going on. Now, having been a teacher for so long, Severus found it ironic. He chuckled to himself at this thought just as he felt Kevin sitting down again next to him. They were both covered in their own invisibility cloaks, so it was impossible to really see him. 

"Hey," came the familiar whisper next to him, "Want a hotdog?"

Severus sighed. If it had been his choice, he would have gone on this mission alone. It wasn't as if he couldn't do it by himself, Dumbledore had just said to watch the kid, most likely to determine if he'd make a good DADA professor in the future. _Whatever_, Severus thought. Personally, Severus figured Dumbledore had sent Kevin along because he was a dimwit and wanted Severus to knock some sense into him. Ever since he'd graduated from Hogwarts, Kevin had been begging Dumbledore for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. He said he felt he knew everything that he needed to, and wanted to be a professor. 

_Yeah right. The day that kid joins us will be a very sad day indeed._ Severus smirked and stared across the street. Dumbledore had hinted that he had chosen someone already for the DADA job, but wouldn't say who. Severus suspected there had been few volunteers, given that the last DADA teacher had died in an attempt to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, but, he thought, there would probably always be a fresh supply of idiots who still doubted the position was jinxed. 

Inside the office, Katie sat at her desk, still sorting through paperwork. Severus watched her for a second, then stood up. 

"Hey, where are you going?" Kevin whispered from somewhere below. 

"There's nothing more I can do out here. I'm going to apparate into the office to get closer."

For a second, Kevin said nothing, then Severus heard the cloak rustle as he stood up. "I'm coming with you," he whispered. 

"Suit yourself, but don't touch anything, and don't say anything." And with that, Severus disappeared from his partner's side… not that he could see it anyways.

*****

With a quiet *****pop*, Severus apparated next to the bookcase behind Katie's desk. Leaning casually against the bookcase, he watched her as she sorted through the paperwork in her lap, talking on the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Williams, I know." She said, pulling a folder from within the stack, "I have the report right here in front of me, I just need to make copies." 

As she spoke, another quiet *pop* told Severus that Kevin had arrived, but he couldn't see him. Then, something happened. She stopped talking to listen to the person on the other end of the line, but Severus still heard her voice… but in his head. 

_God, what a jerk, _the voice said, _If he calls me babe one more time…_

_You'll what? _Severus thought, losing his sense momentarily, then silently gasped. _Oh shit._

For one wild moment, Severus prayed Katie hadn't heard him. At first, he thought there might have been a chance, but then he noticed she had gotten a strange, distant look on her face. "Hello? Miss Hillian?" the voice through the phone echoed quietly in the small office. 

With a twitch, she seemed to snap out of her trance. "Yes, Mr. Williams, I'm sorry. Someone just came in, can I call you back?" her voice seemed oddly strained, and the color in her face drained a little. She waited a second before hanging up, her hand shaking slightly. 

_I'm just tired, that's it. I probably didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm not going crazy.. just tired._ She thought, and Severus suppressed a snicker. 

_Katie._ He thought, staring at her. _Katie. You're not going crazy. You aren't tired. It's ok._

He could see her thinking this over, her face doing nothing to mask her fear. "What the hell is going on?" she whispered, looking around the space in front of her. She turned in her chair to face the wall, and stared at the empty space where Severus was standing, hidden. He knew she couldn't see him, but still he was slightly nervous. 

"I should have never said anything," he thought to himself, keeping his thoughts from her. "How am I ever going to explain this?"

Katie sat silently, just staring. After a few minutes, she stood up. Her dark blue eyes were wide still from the initial shock, and Severus studied them. There was something in them that he didn't remember from their time at Hogwarts. It wasn't fear, it wasn't anything he recognized. It was like… a distant pain, not recent but carefully protected. She moved slowly towards the bookcase, stepping lightly and staring right at where Severus was standing.

He considered moving, but before he could form a plan, she had stopped. With one foot of space between them, she stood quietly, just staring. Clearing her throat, she spoke, her voice shaking terribly. 

"Who's there?"

Severus could feel the tension in the room. He prayed Kevin would have the sense to stay silent. 

_Don't be scared, Katie._

"What?" she paled even more and stepped back, stumbling slightly "Who are you?"

You don't have to talk. Just think, but think as though you're trying to think to someone other than yourself. 

Katie looked thoughtful for a moment, then _Who are you? Are you my conscious?_

No, Katie. It's…. it's Severus.

One moment she was standing, the next, she had fallen to her knees, gasping for air. Checking first to make sure the door to her office was shut and locked, Severus pulled off the Invisibility cloak and kneeled beside her. "Katie.. Katie look at me. Are you ok?"

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, streaking her pale skin. Her body trembled with her sobs. "Severus, oh God. Oh God, what have I done? Who am I?" She leaned forward, one hand on the carpeting and the other hand covering her face. Her crying muffled her voice but Severus half expected someone to hear her and come to check on her. 

"Katie," he whispered, "come here," Pulling her up, he sat on the floor and lifted her into his lap. The rustling of a cloak came from behind and Kevin appeared at his side. 

"Severus! What are you doing?" he said loudly and Severus lifted a hand to silence him. 

"Kevin, keep your voice down. We need to get her back to Hogwarts."

"What? But I thought…We weren't supposed to intervene like this." 

Severus brushed Katie's hair away from her face and looked down at her. She was crying quietly now, her tears fading into his black robes. "There's been a change of plans. I wasn't expecting this. Get the cloaks." 

Kevin moved to pick up the cloaks while Severus struggled to his feet, bearing Katie's weight in his arms. When Kevin had come back to his side, he mumbled "Meet me at the apparating point outside Hogwarts."

A soft *pop* and Kevin disappeared. Severus closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the grassy hill they used for apparating to. In a second, he had apparated next to Kevin. Turning to leave, he heard Kevin's voice.

"I have to go, Severus. I've got to be somewhere in a bit. Here's your cloak."

Kevin put the cloak in Katie's lap and stepped back. Before Severus could say anything else, he had disapparated.

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and even Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._

Thanks to BondageZebra, VisserV, and Weiss145 for reading this and helping me out with ideas and suggestions. If any of you want to beta read for me, email me at Shendraz421@aol.com or catch me on AIM: Annalvl.

Next Chapter: Katie slowly begins to remember what happened, and a bit of her family is hinted at. Will we see what *really* happened the day she disappeared?


	2. Settling In.

**The Ties That Bind (2/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay?

CHAPTER TWO 

Two hours later, Severus and Katie were sitting in Dumbledore's office, having explained every detail of what had happened. The fireplace was alight with softly flickering flames, illuminating everyone's worn faces. Katie stared into it silently, kneels pulled up to her chest. 

Severus watched her out of the corner of his eye, studying how her hand shook ever so slightly as she wiped her tear-streaked cheeks. 

"Sir?" he said softly, glancing over at Dumbledore, "Where is Katie going to be staying tonight?"

"What? I can't go home?" Katie's eyes were wide with shock and disappointment etched across her delicate features.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Hillian. There have been… rumors of dark activity rising again lately. After what happened today, I can't allow you to go back into the Muggle world where there will be no protection for you." Dumbledore walked around his desk and paused between the chairs that Severus and Katie sat in. 

"Severus, do you still have that house out by the mountains?"

"Yes sir, but I haven't lived there in over five years…You're not actually considering sending Katie there, are you?"

"Well, it would be safe, away from Muggles. And she would have the added protection of no one knowing where she was…" Dumbledore reasoned calmly.

Katie blinked at them. "No!" Both men looked over at her, surprised. "Er," she muttered quietly, and bowed her head. "I don't want to be alone…" 

Severus glanced over at Dumbledore who was still deep in thought. "Sir, maybe she could stay here? There aren't many safer places, no one would dare touch her here."

"Hmm…" Stepping between Katie and the fireplace, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Hillian, would you consider residing here for.. erm, a while?"

Resisting the urge to question him, Katie just nodded silently. After today's events, she just wanted to sleep. Her body felt drained of all energy, all emotion, and she would do anything to be able to go to bed right now. Twenty minutes later, she got her wish. 

*****

Dumbledore had arranged for a spare bedroom to be cleaned up by the house elves. They made the bed, started a fire, and gave her some things to get settled in. A towel, two spare sets of robes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, shampoo and other necessities lay forgotten on the chair by the bedroom door as she stripped down to her undergarments and got into bed.

Immediately, the soft folds of the blankets enveloped her and she felt herself drifting off into dreamland. Just before she lapsed into a deep sleep, Katie heard the door to her bedroom creak open and soft footsteps coming to a stop next to her bed.

*****

And she dreamed….

It was as if she was watching an old movie from her past, memories replaying before her. They seemed so familiar, but then again, not. 

_Katie watched as her former self walked with another girl down a dark street, talking and laughing. They turned a corner and the former Katie told a joke. As the two girls laughed at the punch line, a cloaked man leapt out at them from the darkness of an alley between two stores. He grabbed them and threw them both to the ground, shouting a slurred incantation which sent ropes out to bind the girls' hands and feet. _

_Katie watched all this from her standpoint behind it all, unable to move or do anything to help the girls. She watched helplessly as the man robed in black with a covered hood over his face take advantage of the red-haired girl. Her former self was bound in thick rope, forced to watch as well, sobbing in pain for her friend, and in fear of what was going to happen to her. _

_When the man finished with her friend, both Katie's couldn't help but stare at her lifeless body, face streaked with tears and dirt. Somehow she had managed to get away from her pain, The former Katie had broken free from her ropes, having somehow managed to untie them, and scrambled up to her feet. The Death Eater was faced away from the real Katie, but she remembered the look of drunken shock on his face at seeing her unbound. She remembered the sting of his slap when he had recovered. Raising his wand, he had meant to finish her off, but something happened. _

_"Adava Keda-"_

_"NO!!" both Katie's screamed, the dream one jumping onto the Death Eater and shoving him to the ground. What happened next, neither of them saw. A bright flash of light, and the dream faded quickly away into reality._

"Katie! Katie, wake up!" she felt hands on her shoulders, shaking her awake, and felt the hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Her forehead was practically dripping with a cold sweat. She had been screaming in her sleep, struggling with her nightmare. Leaning forward, she realized she had sat up with a jolt.

"Katie, are you alright?" the gentle voice cut through her thoughts, and she opened her eyes. It was night time, and the fireplace had dimmed to merely a flicker. In the near darkness, though, she could just make out Severus's worried face staring back at her. He was kneeling on the bed near her feet, having leaned over to shake her awake. 

Looking at him, Katie took in his shabby appearance, noting his worn features. His three-day-old stubble added at least 10 years to his face, along with the stress lines in his forehead and the dark circles under his eyes, indicating many sleepless nights. His hair was longer than she remembered it being in school, having grown a few inches since. It certainly hadn't looked that greasy back then. She stared at him and smiled. He was kinda cute, in a rugged older-man kind of way. They had always been close in age, but right now, he seemed so much older. Reaching out to touch his cheek with her fingertips, she used her other hand to instinctively pull the sheets around up to her shoulders.

He took her hand in his and kissed her palm, smiling weakly. "What did you dream about?" he inquired, still looking worried. 

She shook her head and looked past him into the fireplace where the logs cast a flickering glow out over the chairs in front of it. "Nothing," she whispered, her voice still hoarse from screaming in her sleep. "It was nothing." She couldn't worry him with her petty nightmares. He had enough to think about.

Clearing her throat, Katie looked back at him, staring into his deep black eyes. Ever since he'd come back into her life earlier, memories of him had followed. It had been years since she'd even thought of him, having blocked most of her past from her mind so long ago, but now… He looked pretty much the way she would have expected him to, if she had given any thought to it, except much, much older. In the past, she remembered being able to read him almost as well as she could read herself, but now there were walls behind his eyes. Walls that she recognized as the trademark of Slytherins. 

As she was studying his face, she noticed his eyes trailing down over her body. She followed his gaze and immediately blushed. In her haste and distraction, she'd forgotten that her clothes were on the floor near the foot of the bed, leaving her with nothing to wear but her black and gray bra and matching underwear. 

"Oh gosh… oh.. I forgot.. uh, could you, uh…" Gesturing at Severus to stand up so she could get up and get her clothes, she tugged the sheets up further. He stood up, and turned away so she could get dressed, and for that she was thankful. 

*****

While he waited, Severus couldn't help but think about the creamy ivory color of her skin, the few freckles on her shoulders and the way her hair framed the delicate features of her face. He shuddered, trying to clear his thoughts, but it didn't work. Staring straight ahead, he noticed a mirror at the other end of the room, facing him. Reflected in it's depths, Severus stood stiffly, his arms folded across his chest, and his black robes wrinkled from the night's sleep. Just over his shoulder, Katie was dressing slowly, opting for a set of plain black robes that the house elves had left for her. She had pulled her hair back with a small rubber band and it hung in waves over her shoulders. He watched her silently as she pulled on her socks, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Severus," she said softly when she had finished dressing, and he turned to face her.

As if reading her mind, he could see the question clearly on her face: 'What do we do now?'. She seemed to be having problems forming it into words, but in the end, she just sighed and looked at her feet. 

"I'm sure Dumbledore will want to see you tomorrow after breakfast," Severus said softly, crossing the room to the door. "It's late, already past dinnertime. If you're hungry… well, come to my office in the dungeons. I'm going to take a shower right now, but I'll be there in half an hour." She nodded, and he left, closing the bedroom door quietly behind him.

****************************************************************

The days flew by quickly, as July turned into August, and the trees turned lovely shades of brown, orange and yellow. Katie struggled to adjust to living at Hogwarts, but it wasn't easy. Even though she'd mailed in her resignation at work, and even went to gather some of her things from her apartment, it was still tough. Since most of the teachers spent the summers either vacationing, visiting family, or just hibernating in their living quarters, Katie didn't have many people to talk to. Meals were ate quietly with Severus in his office, and the rest of the time was killed by wandering the halls, exploring rooms, or just reading in her bedroom.

Every three or four days, she would meet Dumbledore in his office to talk, mostly about her past and he would perform different memory-enhancing spells in a vain effort to help her remember. After a couple weeks of this, he began to show weariness and frustration. 

Leaning back in his chair, Albus sighed. Katie sat across from him in the dark red chair, her elbows resting against her knees, with her head in her hands. Jet black tendrils entwined between her fingers as she thought hard. 

"I had… a brother… a younger brother…" she looked up at Dumbledore, her dark eyes meeting his silver ones. "Didn't I?"

He nodded, but offered no information. Instead, he let her think about this, hoping she would remember on her own.

"He went to school with me, but he was different. Sick. We didn't talk much, but I loved him. He was a…. Gryffindor…"

Dumbledore nodded, and watched her work it out. As with looking at Severus, he could see her mind working behind the endless blue galaxy of her eyes. It was a fascinating sight, watching someone think.

"I can't remember anything else. I keep trying, but nothing wants to come back to me." Katie sighed and ran her hand through her hair. 

"It's ok. I think we've done enough for tonight. We've certainly made some progress. Here," he said, handing Katie some chocolate. "You look tired. Eat this, or Severus will have my hide for wearing you down so much." Katie thought he looked a bit frightened of the mere mention of Severus's wrath, but then… the corners of his mouth twitched as if he was trying to hide a smile.

A knock at the door distracted Katie from her thoughts, and she turned to see Severus standing in the doorway.

"Professor," he said softly, in his trademark tone, "It's almost 4. I need to get to Diagon Alley soon. Do you have…" his voice trailed off as he glanced over at Katie. 

She stared back at him, her weary gaze sweeping over his face, down his robes and back up again. He'd changed since she first saw him again. The stubble had disappeared, and he'd obviously gotten more sleep, as the dark rings under his eyes were almost gone. His robes, she noticed, were impeccably fitted, slim sleeves going all the way down his arms, and a collar just high enough to be considered conservative. 

'Attractive,' she thought to herself and smiled. 'He could use a haircut, though.'

_Do you always wear long sleeves in August? _she thought to him.

A cold look flickered over his eyes, but disappeared almost immediately. 

_Yes._

_Why?_

I just do.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, cutting through the silence. He held a small package out to Severus without standing up, and nodded. 

"I received it earlier today. When are you leaving?"

Severus looked away from Katie and down at the package. After a moment's hesitation, he responded. "Actually, that's up to Katie." Turning to Katie, he almost smiled, "Can you come to Diagon Alley with me tonight, Katie?"

"Why?"

"Because I need to do some shopping, and you do too. "

She thought about this for a minute, then nodded. "Alright. Right now?"

"If you can."

"I can."

She stood up, bid Dumbledore a farewell, and they left. They both had to get their coats, so Severus told her he would meet her in the Entrance Hall. 

A few minutes later, she arrived to find Severus leaning against the doors, his arms crossed casually across his chest and staring into space. Wrapped around his body, he wore a long black cloak, and in the darkness of the dungeons, she supposed thatas useful for sneaking around.

A knut for your thoughts, Severus.

He started in surprise and looked over at her. His black eyes met hers and they stood there in silence for a moment before he responded.

You wouldn't want to know. Let's go.

Before Katie could even ask him about this, he pulled open the door and held it for her. Outside, the autumn air was crisp and breezy, leaves cascaded all around, some settling on the smooth surface of the lake. Others floated lazily down the path to the apparation point. Katie giggled when one drifted into Severus's hair, tangling itself. He frowned and she paused to gently pull it out, leaning in close. Being a Potions Master had certain advantages, like a heightened sense of smell, and right now, he could smell everything. He perfume, her shampoo, the leaves, her skin. Just as he was about to pull away, she stepped back, letting the leaf drift out of her hand. 

"There," she said, smiling.

Her cheeks were red from the cool breeze, her hair a bit tangled. She looked back at him with a quizzical gaze, and he heard her voice in his head again. 

_Ready?_

He smirked. _Are you?_

A mischievous grin appeared on her face and she replied. _Race you there._ Then she quickly disapparated. A second later, he had gone too.

**********************************************************************

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and even Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._

Thanks to BondageZebra, VisserV, and Weiss145 for reading this and helping me out with ideas and suggestions. If any of you want to beta read for me, email me at Shendraz421@aol.com or catch me on AIM: Annalvl.

Next chapter: Severus and Katie go shopping, Severus in pink robes!! Mysterious boxes a new wand for Katie. Is Severus falling in love? 


	3. A Trip To Diagon Alley

**The Ties That Bind (3/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate/Katie are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay? Corvus the raven came from J.L. Matthews… a great idea, if you ask me.

Credits at bottom.

CHAPTER THREE 

Diagon Alley was full of students and their parents, rushing around before school started in two weeks. Severus and Katie tried to look inconspicuous as they made their way through the crowds and up the steps to Gringotts. Once inside, they had to stand in line for about five minutes, then finally stepped up to the counter. A goblin glared at them from over a stack of papers. 

"Yes?" it sneered.

Severus cleared his throat. "We need to withdraw some money from our vaults."

"What number?"

"Five fourteen and five seventy-two."

Katie stared at Severus strangely but said nothing. The number 572 sounded familiar, but it couldn't possibly be hers, could it? And she didn't have a key…

"You have the keys, I assume?"

Pulling a long silver key from his robes, Severus smirked a little, then opened the small envelope that Dumbledore had given him back at the office, and pulled out a similar-looking key. After holding up the key for the goblin's inspection, he tucked it gently into Katie's hand. Katie shivered slightly as his fingertips brushed her palm. 

"Alright, that seemed to be in order then." The goblin raised a knotty hand and beckoned another goblin over. "Show these two to their vaults, Lytha."

The second goblin hobbled away, through a set of thick, iron doors and down a set of stairs. It held the door open to a cart for Severus and Katie to get in, then hopped into the front seat. Turning to face them, he peered intently at the keys in their hands. 

"What vaults?"

Severus replied stiffly, as if he didn't really appreciate this mode of transportation. "Vaults five fourteen and five seventy-two."

With a nod, the goblin pulled a lever, starting the cart down a long tunnel. Straight, left, right, right, straight, left… the directions were impossible to remember. Katie looked over at Severus, who stared straight ahead. His face was slightly more pale than usual, and she suspected he had motion sickness. They moved a bit faster down slopes and around curves, the centripetal force making it hard for Katie to stay on her side of the cart. Twice, she had to pull herself off of Severus's lap, but it didn't seem like he'd minded much. About ten minutes passed before they came to a quick stop in front of a large iron door with a heavy-looking handle. The goblin stepped out, stroked the door with a long knobby finger, and then stepped back. At once, the door appeared to melt away, revealing a smaller door in which a simple lock was displayed. 

"Excuse me," Severus muttered, stepping over Katie to get to the door. He pushed his key into the lock and turned it slightly. *Click* Turning the small handle, Severus opened the door slowly. Inside were several large piles of bronze and silver coins, and a few larger piles of gold coins. A few handfuls later and they were on their way again, down another hallway, then pulling to a stop in front of a similar door. 

The goblin stepped out to open this door, and Severus turned to Katie, taking her hands in his smooth grasp. He sighed and looked into her blue eyes full of wonder, searching for words. 

"Katie," he began in a strained voice, "your parents… they uh… Before you disappeared, they started this account for you, and you put money in it from your paychecks when you worked for the Ministry."

"I worked for the Ministry?"

Severus nodded. "You were the assistant to one of the Hex Research Lab Technicians. It was a long time ago, so I don't expect you to remember… Anyways, when you disappeared, your parents kept putting money into this vault in hopes that you'd come back someday to get it. When they died, some of your family members took some of your possessions and put them in this vault, along with some of your mothers things… jewelry, I think. Maybe some dresses, or something, I don't know. I just heard this from Dumbledore who knew your family better then I did. If you don't want to see it, I understand. But I thought you should at least know." At this, his voice trailed off and he looked away, over at the door to her vault. It was a bit bigger than his vault, since it contained more than money, Katie was quiet for a minute, then stood up, letting go of his hands. She pulled the key from her robe pocket and placed it in the lock. Turning to look at Severus, she smiled slightly. A small twist of her wrist and the lock clicked.

Inside were large piles of coins, Knuts, Sickles and Galleons, mostly from her parents. On one side of the large vault, though, laid a couple large boxes. Katie kneeled beside these after putting a few handfuls of coins in her purse, and rested a hand on one of them. For a while, she just sat there in silence, staring at the lettering in black ink: Kate Hillian, vault five seventy-two. These were her things, she thought, her things and her parents' things. Her life was in these boxes, a life she couldn't remember, and yet someone had loved her enough to give here these things. Her hand shook as she raised it to wipe a few tears that had made their way down her cheek. 

"Can I… bring these with me?"

Severus looked over at the goblin, who merely shrugged.

"I don't see why not. They're yours." Severus replied, moving over in his seat to make room. 

When they got back to the surface, Severus carrying one box, Katie holding the other, Severus led her down the steps. 

"We can take these to Madam Malkins and have her hold them while we do our shopping. We'll have to go back there anyways to pick up our robes. Is that ok with you?"

Katie nodded and followed him down the sidewalk, watching the smooth way he walked. His posture was impeccible, and his robes seemed to move as if guided by a perfectly coordinated breeze. She was so busy admiring his stature that she didn't even notice he'd stopped. In a surprisingly gentlemanly gesture, he held the door open for her to the robe shop.

"Thanks," she said, but it was drowned out by Madam Malkin cheerfully greeting them.

"Severus!" she almost shouted, "How lovely to see you! You haven't been in here for so long, how've you been?"

Katie set her box down next to a chair and sat down, watching as Severus shifted to shake Madam Malkin's hand. He then put his box on top of Katie's and went over to the counter.

"I've been quite fine, thank you. I'm going to need some new robes for this year, and Miss Hillian here needs some as well. Are you busy?"

Madam Malkin looked up from the young man she was pinning robes on. From her seat, Katie could see the look of fear in the young man's eyes as he looked at Severus, obviously recognizing him. Severus ignored him, however.

"I'm not too terribly busy, though it will be a minute before I finish with this laddie." Madam Malkin poked the young man with her wand and his robes shrunk a little to fit him better. She stepped back to examine him while Severus sat down next to Katie, hands in his lap and staring straight ahead. Katie was thankful for the moment of silence because it gave her time to think about the boxes some more. She wondered who would have put them in the vault for her, who would have cared about her enough to do that. 

Then it came to her. "Of course!" she muttered quietly to herself, causing Severus to look over in surprise. "What?"

"I know who put the boxes in my vault… why didn't I think of it before?" She turned to look at him, but he stared back at her curiously.

"Who was it?"

"My brother! That is… if he's still alive… I don't remember much about him." Tapping her chin with her finger, she appeared to be deep in thought.

"Do you remember his name? Maybe who he was at all?" Severus didn't remember Katie mentioning a brother in all her years at Hogwarts. In fact, she hadn't talked about her family much at all since they met. He'd known she had parents, she had said they were wizards working for a book company. Her father had been an author, and her mother was the assistant to some publisher. But that was years ago… they had died about 8 years after Katie disappeared, but he didn't tell her that.

Katie thought hard. There was no name on the boxes besides her own, no hint as to who had left them for her, but somehow she knew who it had been. She just couldn't remember his name. They'd gone to school together, in the same year. She had been born almost a year after him, but they had still ended up together. They had been close before Hogwarts, but something, probably being in enemy houses, had kept them from hanging out together there. He'd been sick, somehow, but Katie couldn't remember how. She was quiet for so long, Severus thought she'd forgotten his question. Leaning over to touch her hand, he whispered, "Katie, are you ok?"

She started and blinked, as if realizing where she was. "Yes… I was just thinking. I can't remember who he was, I just know he must have left it for me."

Severus nodded as the young man left, looking terrified as he passed by them. Katie saw Severus smirk and roll his eyes then stand up. He was measured first, then fitted into long, plain black robes. Madam Malkin pinned them in all the right places, making sure they were just long enough, then she stepped back. 

"All black again, Severus?" she said.

He nodded, but Katie stood up suddenly. "I think it's time for a change, don't you?" she said, her mouth twitching a little.

Severus stared at her, his eyes widening slightly. Madam Malkin gave him a once over, then nodded. "I think so too. Black can be so dull sometimes. Maybe a different color?" 

She tapped the robes he was wearing with her wand and they immediately changed into a set of dark violet robes. "Hmm," she said thoughtfully, and Katie shook her head. 

"No, I don't think that's his color. It makes him look…" but she couldn't think of the appropriate word. He did look good, of course. He would have looked good in anything, that's just how he was, but she didn't say that. It was time to have a little fun with him.

Severus glared, and Madam Malkin tapped the robes again. Blue. Bright blue. "Hmm," she said again, leaning back to take in his appearance.

Katie shook her head again, her black hair glistening in the light from the windows. "That's not his color either."

"You're right… it's just so hard to place men in robes these days." Madam Malkin grinned and tapped the robes. Teal. White. Yellow. Red. Maroon. Purple. Severus' face was getting redder and redder with each color change. Light Green. Brown. Orange. Tan. 

"ALRIGHT!!!" he yelled, looking furious. Madam Malkin stopped tapping, leaving Severus standing in bright pink robes. 

Katie stared at him, covering her mouth with her hand. Her cheeks were flushed from having to suppress her giggles, and her mouth twitched noticeably. Growling, Severus shook with anger. 

"Get… Me… Out… Of… These… Robes..." He threatened. 

"Here," Katie said quietly, and took Madam Malkin's wand. With one last look at Severus in pink, she closed her eyes and tapped the robes. 

Feeling thoroughly humiliated, Severus hesitated before looking down. When he finally did, he was surprised to find himself in stunning robes of jet black and forest green. They were mostly black, but with a thin line of green jetting down his chest in a large V, and green around the cuffs and collar. He wondered for a split second why he never wore something like this, and looked up at Katie. She was staring at him with an odd look on her face, but he couldn't place it.

For a moment, she said nothing, then she finally spoke quietly. "Severus… you look… great."

He nodded, and she gave the wand back to Madam Malkin, who was busy gaping.

"The V-line over your chest is supposed to make your shoulders look a little wider. The different color around the cuffs, and the vertical gray threading implies power." Katie shrugged. "I read about it in a magazine a while back. I never really knew if it really worked… but I guess so…" 

He stepped down, letting Madam Malkin help him take off the robes and went outside while Katie got hers. Women's robes, by nature, were always quite curve-hugging, and he didn't think it would be very good to watch her get fitted for them. Watching her get dressed on her first night back was… enlightening, and besides, she was a friend. Just a friend. Now if only he could keep telling himself this, all would be ok. After about ten minutes, she emerged, grinning slightly. 

"She said to come back in about an hour, and the robes would be ready. She's had a lot of students to fit, so she couldn't do them right away." 

He nodded, glaring at a couple of kids who passed by. The next stop was Flourish and Botts, where Severus said he had to pick up a new Advanced Potion's manual. His old one had finally fallen apart. Katie drifted down the aisles, pausing here and there, finally ending up halfway down the Dark Arts section before stopping and pulling a tattered book off the shelf. It had a dark green leather cover, and inscribed in thin silver letters was the title: _The Darkness Within_. 

Flipping the cover open, she turned the pages. She was so engrossed with he pictures and descriptions of Dark Wizards that she didn't even notice Severus step behind her.

I wouldn't stand here for too long, if I were you. It wouldn't do for someone to notice Miss Hillian standing in the Dark Arts section, flipping through a book about hidden evil powers. His voice contained a tad bit of sarcasm, even when echoed into her head.

Severus smirked and Katie started, feeling him right behind her. Shutting the book quickly, she placed it back on the shelf and turned to face him.

_Oh, and I suppose it would look just fine if it were you?_ She replied, the hint of a sneer on her face. 

_I'm sure that's what they'd expect of me. Let's go._ He took her hand and led her out, having paid for his book already. They went to a few more shops and Severus picked up some things before stopping outside Knockturn Alley. Katie gave an involuntary shudder, which Severus noticed.

He turned to face her, giving her hand a squeeze. _I have to get a couple things. I'll be right back. Wait here._

With that, he brushed his thumb over the back of her hand lightly before letting go and walking away. A simple gesture but it was still comforting. She sat down on a nearby bench, toying with the cuff of her robes and staring into space. Her eyes drifted lazily over the faces of students and parents, coming to rest on a set of familiar green eyes across the street. They belonged to a boy, about fifteen years old, with untidy black hair and round glasses. He was talking and laughing with a taller, red-haired boy and a bushy-headed brunette, both about the same age. She watched the kids as they sat outside the ice cream shop, laughing at something the red-haired boy just said. A few seconds later and they were joined by a whole group of red-haired people, two adults (probably the parents), two identical boys who looked about seventeen, and a young girl with long copper hair. The three kids stood up and greeted the arrivals, then took their empty ice cream bowls inside. When they returned, the red-haired family started to walk away, but the dark haired boy paused. He stood next to the brown-haired girl, scanning the crowd. Then their eyes met. Katie looked into those emerald eyes, and he stared back at her. The brunette tugged on his sleeve, ("Harry, come on! They're waiting!") but he continued to look at Katie. 

It was difficult to explain the feeling that passed through Katie while looking at this boy. She felt sad, lonely, happy, confused, a dozen feelings at once. But what stayed long after he looked away was this feeling of familiarity, as if she had known him a long time ago. 

"Katie." It was Severus, but she was too lost in her thoughts to hear him. Maybe the boy was a relative? She didn't think so. He seemed too young for her to have known in school…

_Katie! _He'd called her name a couple more times before she finally looked up.

"Hmm?" she replied, looking a bit dazed.

Severus glanced over his shoulder to see what she'd been staring at, but there were so many people, it was hard to tell what it had been. Turning back to her, he said, "Ready?" and she stood up to join him. They walked for a bit, not saying anything, and stopped outside Ollivander's, _Fine Wand Makers_.

Katie didn't have to ask what for. She hadn't seen her wand since… well, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her wand. She did remember, however, the day she bought it. She'd been trying out almost every wand in the store before…

*****

(Twenty-six years ago…)

"Ah, yes…" Ollivander had said quietly, handing her a short, thin wand, black and shiny, after she had tried almost every other wand in the store it seemed.

From the moment it touched her hand, she felt warmth spread through her fingertips, up her arm, and all over. Raising it above her head, she couldn't help but feel the power coming from it. With a _whoosh!_, she waved it downwards, sending a stream of sparks that bounced off the walls and flew out the door. Lots of sparks, actually, of all different colors. Green, red, blue, and yellow… all twisting and spinning together. Katie stared at them as they twirled upwards and out of view, much to the surprise of the passerby.

"Wow," she had whispered.

"Indeed. I have never, in all my years, seen that happen. Very curious. 9 inches, black walnut.. with a raven feather as a core… That particular raven only produced three wands." He had paused, looking curiously at the wand she held. Then, "Ravens are proud creatures, quite wise, and mysterious. They have been known to be good familiars for those with similar personalities… Do let me know how this wand works out for you, hmm?"

*****

(Present Day…)

Stepping through the door to Ollivanders, Katie felt the odd sense of déjà vu coming back to her. She felt eleven again, and wondered if Severus felt the same. Looking at him, she couldn't tell how he felt, he always looked indifferent. From the back of the store, there was the sound of footsteps, then Ollivander appeared from around the corner, carrying some small boxes. 

"Ah!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "Welcome! Er… Have we met?" He stared at Katie with a piercing gaze, then glanced over at Severus.

"Severus! Oh yes.. hmm… 11 inches, dark ash, with a feather from a raven was it?"

Katie blinked and looked from Ollivander to Severus, who only nodded calmly. For a wild moment, she considered the possibility that their wands had shared the same core…

Ollivander smiled more brightly, but decided not to question Severus anymore. He then turned back to Katie and grasped his hands together. 

"So you need a wand, eh? Hmm.." He appeared deep in thought for a second, then reached into his pocket for that familiar tape measure. After taking a few measurements, he went over to the shelf and pulled down several long, thin boxes. One by one, he took wands out and handed them to Katie, who merely waved them and set them down when nothing happened. A few dozen wands later, Severus gave a sigh and slumped down in his seat, staring straight ahead. Ollivander looked no less than excited though. 

"A challenge, eh?" he mumbled to himself while pulling more boxes from their shelves. "Well, I've got all day.."

Katie was just hoping it wasn't going to take all day when she felt the warmth and power spread through her fingertips. Looking down, she saw that she was holding a short, light gray wand, and it was positively glowing in her hand. Instinctively, she brought it up above her head, and down again quickly, leaving a trail of sparks and mist in its wake. Red sparks, orange sparks, yellow sparks and green sparks, all swirled together. Having learned control when she attended Hogwarts, these sparks didn't shoot all over the place, they merely glittered and fell like dew, cascading down in front of them. 

Severus sat up in his seat, while Ollivander mumbled to himself, "How curious, how very curious," then…

"Kate Hillian, was it? 9 inches, hazel with… my word.. a raven feather core.. Hmm…" His voice drifted off, and he stared at the wand. 

Katie nodded, still staring down at the wand in her hand. She would bet her life that the wand she held was the third and last of the wands made with feathers from the same raven her old wand core had come from. The sound of Ollivander's muttering had only confirmed her beliefs.

"Well.. what do you know… wands are strange… very strange. How peculiar indeed that you would be fated with a raven feather from that particular raven… when the raven's owner is standing here with us."

Ollivander looked clearly at Severus, who stared back in almost disbelief. 

"My wand…?"

"Her wand came from Corvus?" Severus stood up and walked over to Katie, gently taking her wand and examining it.

"Indeed. Her last wand had the other feather from him as well. And yours, I believe, has the third?" 

Severus nodded. While he examined her wand closely, Katie paid Ollivander and chatted with him a little about wand cores. A few minutes later, Katie heard the door open behind her. A couple first years had stumbled in, needing wands. Severus and Katie excused themselves and left, heading back towards Madam Malkins.

"I never knew our wands shared the same cores." She said quietly as they walked.

"Interesting how the topic never came up." Severus walked with his hands in his robe pockets, staring straight ahead. Since they had left, he had gotten this distracted look on his face. Katie was amazed he even replied when she spoke.

They reached Madam Malkins in no time, seeing as how half of the crowd had dispersed earlier, probably for dinner. Again, Severus held the door open for Katie, then stepped in behind her. 

"Ah!" Madam Malkin called from behind the counter, kneeling beside a boy and pinning his robes. "Come in! Your robes have been ready for a while now, I was hoping you'd be back soon. I'll be there in a second."

Severus took a seat near the door, while Katie walked over to her boxes to make sure they were ok. They were right where they had been when Katie had left, no sign of tampering either. 

"You do realize," Severus said in a quiet voice from his seat, "that we'll have to take a carriage back to Hogwarts.. with all this stuff we have. It would be hard to apparate with all this to concentrate on."

Katie nodded and yawned. Shopping always took a lot out of her. A moment later and Madam Malkin appeared with their robes in her arms. She separated them into two piles, Katie's and Severus'. They paid, Katie paying a bit more because she'd gotten a couple cloaks as well, and left, taking the boxes and their robes. Catching a carriage was easy, since a lot of them waited like Muggle taxis just outside of town for people who needed rides. 

It was a short bumpy ride back to Hogwarts, and although she couldn't possibly have fallen asleep, even if she'd wanted to, Katie found it easy to relax, leaning against Severus with her head on his shoulder while staring outside the window. The meadows and foliage had an odd, calming effect on her.

Severus sat uncomfortably next to Katie, resisting the urge to put his arm around her. He had to keep telling himself that she was just a friend, and even in the very, VERY small possibility that she had the slightest of feelings for him, in that way, it would never work out because they were such good friends. So he had to learn to be satisfied with just being friends. Not that it was very hard. He didn't have many friends, and with Katie, everything just came naturally. 

They pulled up just outside Hogwarts when there was still a little light left. The sun was still setting, casting its beautiful orange and yellow rays over everything. Katie and Severus magically lifted their packages out of the carriage and into Hogwarts, then each to their own bedrooms. Katie had considerably more things to manage, with the two boxes from her vault, and everything else she bought. When she had finally gotten everything settled, she put off opening the boxes to take a shower. 

*****

Severus left his things piled up on his bed, moving instead to the bathroom to take a shower as well. He needed something to take his mind off of Katie… off of her scent that still lingered in his robes, on his skin, even in his hair. It was driving him mad, and he quickly stripped, casting his robes aside and jumping into the stream of hot water. 

*****

In Dumbledore's office, A thin, haggard looking man sat in one of the chairs next to the fireplace, his hands folded in his lap. His brown hair was specked with gray, and his face was lined with wrinkles.

"I hope you know what you're doing by hiring me back, Albus," the man said in a quiet voice.

"Of course, Remus. You're one of the best Defense teachers we've had in… a very long time. Besides, you're a good friend.. and…" Dumbledore's voice trailed off and he looked down.

"And what?"

"Well…" He tried to put it gently, but realizing that Lupin would get even more curious if he didn't say it right away, he just spit it out. "Remus, we found Kate."

"WHAT?!" Remus yelled, jumping to his feet. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this. 

"Sit down, sit down. We found her, and she's here…" Albus stood up and walked over to Remus's chair, guiding him back down. 

"She's not… dead… is she?"

Albus shook his head and Remus looked a bit less shocked, but more confused. He decided it would be best if he explained it from the beginning, and so he started with the part where his source told him where Katie was, and ended with Katie leaving for Diagon Alley earlier today. Lupin listened in silence, his face screwed up like it always was when he was in deep concentration. When Dumbledore finished talking, they sat in silence for a while. 

"So…" Lupin said quietly, staring down at his hands. "She doesn't… remember me at all?"

"I think she remembers she had some family, by the way she talks about them, but she probably doesn't remember who her brother was. If she did, she would have contacted you by now." Dumbledore paced the floor in front of the fireplace and stroked his beard. "It may be a bit hard for her to see you, because you were such a big part of her life back then. Severus says she broke down in tears when she saw him…"

"Yeah, well.." Lupin wanted to make a comment to that, but he figured Dumbledore probably wouldn't appreciate it. "Do you think I could, you know, talk to her?"

Dumbledore shrugged at this, but paused for a moment before replying. "I suppose you could, but I want to give it a couple days. School will start in a week, and I'm sure you two won't be able to avoid each other then, but I want to talk to her before just throwing you back into her life."

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and also Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._

Thanks to BondageZebra, VisserV, and Weiss145 for reading this and helping me out with ideas and suggestions. If any of you want to beta read for me, email me at Shendraz421@aol.com or catch me on AIM: Annalvl.

Next chapter: What will happen when Katie sees Lupin again? What's in those boxes? School starts and the Trio is back, what will they think of Katie? And what's with those raven feathers?


	4. Moony's Return

**The Ties That Bind (4/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate/Katie are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay? Corvus the raven came from J.L. Matthews… a great idea, if you ask me.

Credits at bottom.

CHAPTER FOUR 

Katie paced her room impatiently. She'd been to the library but found it locked. Madam Pince was obviously out, and there was nothing else to do. 

'Hmm…' Katie thought to herself, 'Maybe Albus is in. I wouldn't mind seeing him.'

So she headed back down the stairs, thinking about Severus and the boxes that were back in her room, still unopened. She had spent a lot of time thinking about whether she should open them or not, but in the end, decided she would do it later. 

Still deep in thought, Katie took the steps casually and suddenly found herself thigh-deep in the trick step she'd forgotten to jump. 

"Oh great," she moaned, "really just great!" Throwing her hands up in exasperation, she sighed. It was nearly impossible to get out of the step on your own, and as an adult it's harder. Some children are just nimble enough to get out, but Katie had never been. And no was no different. She could always call Severus to come help her, but he said he was going to go out again after they got back, so she didn't know if he was still here, or what. Her only choice was to wait for someone to come along.

It was ten minutes before she heard footsteps and voices from the hallway around the corner from the bottom of the steps. She was stuck and couldn't lean far enough to see who it was, but she could hear what they were saying.

"So you need any help settling in, Remus? I could send some house elves down to assist you…" an older, gentler voice said.

"No," this voice sounded just as gentle, but younger and weary, "I'm fine. I did it on my own before. It's not like I have much stuff anyways."

"Alright, let me know if you change your mind."

The footsteps came closer and Katie saw the edge of some robes, then a pair of worn shoes. She looked up to see the back of a thin man, his brown hair graying, and his dark blue robes patched and frayed at places. He was facing Albus but not saying anything.

Albus, on the other hand, was gazing right at her, his mouth open slightly in shock. He was dressed in dark red robes, and his silver hair twinkled in the evening torch-light. Quickly, he shut his mouth and looked at the thin man in front of him, then back down at Katie. A look of worry flashed over his face, but disappeared as he walked past the other man and reached out with his hand.

"Here. Let me help you out." He said quietly, his face contorted in concentration.

She grasped his hand and he pulled hard. Her leg suddenly freed, Katie looked over Albus's shoulder to see the other man, who had turned to face them.

She gasped and her hand instinctively went up to her mouth. He looked positively horrified, as if he'd seen a ghost. Then…

"Kate!" 

Katie felt her knees give out, and she hit the steps hard, holding onto the rail for support. The man rushed forward to help her, but Dumbledore held a hand out and stopped him. 

"Wait." He said in a soft voice, and the man sighed but didn't step back. Katie just kneeled on the cold cement, her eyes glued to the man. 

Finally, she spoke, her voice shaking with emotion. "R-r-remus?"

He glanced at Dumbledore, then nodded. "Kate," he whispered, "Kate, I'm so sorry… oh God, I'm so sorry." He held out his right hand, and she stood up. Walking past Dumbledore, she took Remus's hand and he pulled her into a tight hug. They stood like that for over a minute, Katie shaking all over and Remus fighting tears while burying his face in her shoulder. Dumbledore stood back quietly, watching the two. Finally they broke apart, Remus dabbing at his eyes with a tissue. 

From the top of the stairs, soft footsteps could be heard, then a quiet voice.

"Katie?"

"Down here, Severus," she replied, and stepped into view at the bottom of the stairs. 

He walked down to meet her.

_What's going on?_ He implored her, staring from her, to Remus, to Dumbledore, who merely smiled. Remus avoided his gaze, and looked down at the floor instead. 

Nothing, Severus. I was just… 

She took his hand and squeezed it. _Let's go._

He nodded and Remus looked up.

"Kate…?" He said quietly, and Severus glared at him. 

"I'll see you again." Katie replied, lacing her voice with finality. Then she turned and led Severus back up the steps, making sure to skip the trick one, while Severus scowled behind her back.

Once in her bedroom, Katie sighed and lit the fireplace, then sat on her bed and watched Severus pace. He'd been tense since he'd found her with Remus and Albus, but she couldn't figure out why. Jealousy? Nah, he wasn't the type… especially since they weren't a couple. But then, what could he have against Remus? Maybe she could ask him.

"Severus, what do you have against Remus?" it all came out quickly, before she could stop it. He froze in his tracks and stared at her incredulously. 

"What?"

"Uh… well, you don't seem to like Remus much, why?"

There. Severus had twitched. His voice was toneless, yet anger laid underneath his words.

"I don't like Remus. I never have."

"But why?"

"Why do I have to tell you? What were you doing with him there anyways?"

"Why do you care? What difference does it make? And why do you think I have to tell you?" Katie was feeling anxious and angry. How dare he act like this! She expected him to slap her, or even storm out, but what he did surprised her. He sat down beside her and took her hand in his. 

"Katie," he said in a no-longer angry voice, "Listen, you probably don't remember this, but when we were back in school, Remus and I didn't get along. His friends and I didn't get along. He hung out with James Potter and Sirius Black, who managed to make me… very miserable while we were here at Hogwarts. He's a… he's a werewolf, Katie, and when we were at Hogwarts, he and his friends played a very cruel joke on me that would have resulted in my death if one of them hadn't chickened out halfway through. Remus has never apologized and I am not going to forgive him unless he does." At this, he frowned and looked away. 

Katie said nothing, but ran this over and over in her head. A plot, a joke, on Severus. Surely she could remember what had happened, right? It was in their fifth year, and OWL's were a little over a month away. Katie was in the library when she heard talking from the other side of a large bookcase.

"I'm going to teach that slimy bastard a lesson." The first voice muttered angrily.

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" another boy whispered to him, and Katie had peered around the corner of the bookcase at them.

The tall, muscled teen was baring his teeth and clenching his fists. "That oily git made a fool out of me today in potions. He added beetle legs to my potion when I wasn't watching, and the whole thing was ruined!"

"How do you know it was him?" the second boy said, his black hair falling messily in his face as he scanned a large tome. 

"Who else would do it? Besides, I saw him walk past my cauldron a few minutes earlier. I should have saw it coming. He's probably still hacked off about you beating Slytherin last week, Prongs."

Prongs? Katie definitely didn't recognize that name, but somehow she thought it must be a nickname. Besides, she recognized him as James Potter, Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. His friend was Sirius Black, an unruly Gryffindor that constantly picked on Severus. They'd gotten in so many fights, she couldn't even begin to count. 

They didn't say much of interest after that, and soon headed back to their table with a few books, where they met up with Remus. None of them had seen her spying, but she saw Remus look up and smile at her when his friends weren't watching. 

That night was a full moon, and Katie remembered seeing Remus sneak off to the shrieking shack just after dinner. His friends disappeared soon after, claiming they needed to study for their OWLs. Severus had left just before her, saying he needed to see Professor Lestrange about the Potions essay she'd given them earlier.

A few hours later, Severus appeared in the common room, seething with anger. He brushed right past her and stomped up to the dorms, then slammed the door to his dorm behind him. A minute later, Katie followed him up, not even bothering to knock before entering. His dorm-mates had grown used to seeing her there, and most of them were downstairs anyways. 

Severus was laying in his bed on his back when she came in, glaring at the ceiling. He didn't look over when she said hi, or when she sat down next to him. She placed a hand on his chest and sighed. 

"Those bastards. I'll get them for this, oh yes, I will." He growled and covered her hand with his.

"What happened?"

"Just another 'joke' from that those pompous assholes. I've been tracking Lupin's disappearances for a while now, and Black comes up to me after dinner…"

Severus explained that Sirius had sent him to the Whomping Willow, and showed him how to get past it by prodding a knot in the stump. He'd left, telling Severus to follow the path to the Shrieking Shack and he'd find out where Remus had been sneaking off to. Halfway down the path, he'd been confronted by Potter who, out of breath, had told him that he couldn't go to the Shrieking Shack because Lupin was a werewolf and would kill him if he did. 

At this, Severus pounded the bed with his fist. "That smug bastard. He had the gall to come 'rescue' me, then lead me back to the castle to 'make sure I got back okay'." He growled and Katie stroked his hair. 

In the present time, Katie jerked out of her reminiscing as Severus stood up.

"Katie, please. Just tell me what you were doing with Lupin. I want to know."

His black eyes gazed pleadingly back at her, and he kneeled in front of her. He took her hand again and she stared down at him.

"It was nothing, Severus," she lied, praying he wouldn't be able to tell how nervous she was. "I just met him and Albus in the hall, and we exchanged greetings. I was just about to go back upstairs when you turned up." Shrugging, Katie stared down at his hand in hers, his thumb stroking the back of her fingers. Finally, he stood up.

"Fine. I just… I don't want you to get hurt by him. He and Sirius are still friends, and… well, I don't want them to do anything to you. You understand." Then, feeling like he'd said too much, he turned and walked out. Down the stairs and to the dungeons, he thought about Katie, and the look on Remus's face. A look of pain, surprise, fear, but mostly longing. Severus knew what that was, alright. He felt it all the time. The longing to be happy, to be loved and accepted. To finally get rid of this damned Dark Mark.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Remus following him. When he finally reached his quarters, Severus dug through his pocket for his wand to unlock the door. Remus took advantage of this moment and spun Severus around by his shoulders and slammed him up against the wall. 

"What the-?" Severus exclaimed, grasping Remus's wrists, but he didn't let go. Instead, he felt himself being raised off of the ground by his robes.

"Now you listen here, Snape. I want to know what's going on between you and Kate, and I want to know NOW!" Remus growled at him, his face red with anger.

"What's it to you?" 

Tightening his grip on Severus's robes, he raised him a little bit higher. "Who do you think you are? What makes you think you have the RIGHT to talk to her? To touch her? Tell me!" this last bit was screamed at Severus, and Severus flinched.

"Put me down, Lupin. You don't know what you're doing. What if somebody comes along?"

"Let them!" Remus still growled, but a little quieter. He glanced down the darkened hallway, and seemed to take in Severus's words. After a moment, he released Severus, stepping back. 

Severus slumped down against the wall and took a couple deep breaths. He didn't know Remus was that strong, but he supposed looks could be very deceiving sometimes. Straightening his robes, he chanced a look at Remus.

The man was still flexing his hands, glaring at him. "Now," he said quietly, "Tell me. What's going on with you and Kate?" The way he said it, Severus thought, it was more like an order than a question. 

Severus stepped forward, using his height as an advantage to loom over Lupin. "You tell me. What's it to you?" Remus glared at him, but didn't say anything, so Severus continued.

"What's the matter, Remus? Jealous?" he smirked.

When Remus reached back, Severus knew exactly what he was going to. The only thing was, he didn't think fast enough to duck. In fact, his last thought before he felt the blow was "That looks like it could be quite painful."

And it was. Remus's fist slammed into Severus's jaw, sending him flying backwards. 

"Damned werewolf strength," Severus cursed as he hit the floor hard, and then he blacked out. 

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and also Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._

Next chapter: School's back in, and the Trio is back, along with Draco and the rest of the kids. What will they think of Katie? And what *is* in those boxes?


	5. Choice of Friends

**The Ties That Bind (5/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate/Katie are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay? Corvus the raven came from J.L. Matthews… a great idea, if you ask me.

Credits at bottom.

CHAPTER FIVE 

Katie sat on her bed after Severus had left, and stared at the boxes. She wanted so much just to open them and see what was in them, but something held her back. 

After a few minutes of building up her courage, she got up and kneeled beside one of them. Gently, she pulled off the tape. Casting that aside, Katie pulled up one of the flaps, just as someone knocked on her door.

Sigh. "Who is it?"

"Kate…. It's Remus." He sounded as weary as before, if not more now.

She stood up and went to the door to let him in. He was leaning against the frame, rubbing his hand. They stood there for a second, and then he glanced past her at the box on the floor. 

"You, ah… you found the boxes?"

She nodded. He frowned slightly. "When mom and dad, er.. passed away, I was charged with taking care of their property. I had to sell most of it, but a lot of little stuff, a lot of your stuff, went into boxes. I still have a couple other boxes, the goblins wouldn't let me put much into the vault. Everybody… they thought you were…"

His voice trailing off, Remus looked down at his hand, which was slightly bruised at the knuckles.

"Remus! What happened to your hand?" Katie took his hand and led him in, examining the marks.

"I uh," he shifted nervously, "Severus and I… we talked." He shrugged and sat on her bed, leaning back to look at her. She paused near the box, then sat on the floor next to it.

"You talked to Severus? What about?" Severus and Remus didn't "talk", they fought, or they ignored each other completely. Even back in school, they'd had some sort of rivalry. She could never tell Severus that Remus was her brother. He'd have been crushed, in a strange… unexplainable way. He'd always seen Remus as a demon of sorts, and his friends were no better. James and Sirius were always picking on Severus and the other Slytherins, but at least the other Slytherins stood up for each other. Severus had always been on his own.

Katie sighed and looked at the box. Remus was taking his time forming an answer to Katie's question, but she knew it wouldn't be true. In the end, he just resigned to changing the subject.

"So… you haven't opened the box yet?" she shook her head so he got up to sit next to her. "Here," he said, leaning over her and pulling it open. 

Inside was a bunch of folded robes, dresses, cloaks, and just a lot of clothes. He pulled them out in stacks as she watched in awe, and set them down in front of her. Underneath, were some older books, and then framed photographs. Then, a jewelry box with some old jewelry inside. 

"Wow," she whispered. 

"Yeah," Remus said, pulling more stuff out. "This all came from your room. When you disappeared, Mom and Dad kept everything the same. They never touched your stuff. When they died, everyone else just wanted to sell their house, so I got as much out of it for you as I could." 

He set a photo album in her lap, then a couple stuffed bears. One was a lavender bear with a sparkly white bow around it's neck. She'd gotten it from her aunt for her 10th birthday. The other one was a fluffy silver bear holding a black rose. Remus's mouth twitched when he handed it to her, as if he wanted to say something. Severus had given her this bear during their fifth year for Christmas. 

The last thing in the box was a pair of tall boots, that Katie remembered as being the ones she wore during her last year at Hogwarts… she'd loved those boots. They were tall… almost reached her knees, and laced up the front. Leather with thick soles, they were always comfortable, and useful for kicking down doors… which she almost never had had to do.

"Hmm…" Remus said, studying the pile in front of him. "Well, that looks about right. The other box was some of Mom's stuff, like dresses, more pictures, jewelry, and a couple books. I think there are a couple of Dad's cloaks and robes in there too. I'd have kept them to wear… but… well, I was never nearly as tall as him."

He grinned and Katie giggled. Remus had always been short, at least compared to Sirius, who had been at least 6'3 in their last year. Severus had been short most of their time at Hogwarts too, but somehow in the last seventeen years, he must have gained at least a foot. Katie, who was a couple inches shorter than Remus, felt strange for a moment.

_Severus?_

She had almost forgotten about Severus, and now wondered where he could be. He didn't respond right away, then, 

_Oh bloody hell, Owww…._

Katie shook her head and chuckled, and Remus looked up at her strangely. "Erm," she said quietly, "Maybe we should find a place for all this stuff…"

"Of course." He said, standing up. Then, pointing his wand at the wall, he conjured up a tall bookcase. Pointing his wand at the books on the floor, he muttered and they shot into the air, and perched themselves onto one of the shelves.

Katie gathered up the clothes and stacked them at the bottom of her wardrobe, vowing to have them cleaned later. Maybe the house elves would do it, she thought.

_Hey Sev, you ok?_

In her head, he groaned quietly, then responded in an oddly strained voice. __

_Lupin's up there with you, isn't he?_

For a brief second, she considered denying it, then remembered how hard it was to lie through telepathy. Almost impossible, and of course, the other person almost always knew.

_Yes, he is. He came to help me with the boxes._

Silence… then, _I'm going to have a few drinks to get rid of this migrane. You can join me, if you wish._

She nodded, then remembered he couldn't see it. _Alright then, in a few minutes._

Turning back to Lupin, she watched him put the things from the boxes away, handling them as if they were priceless gems. In a way, they were, but they were also normal items. When the last of the shoes were stuffed in the bottom of her wardrobe, Remus turned to face her. The flicker from the flames in the fireplace added creepy shadows to his face, making him look at least a hundred years old. She stood up.

"Remus, I've got some things to do before bed… it's been a really long day, so if you don't mind…" her voice trailed off and her eyes flickered towards the door.

"Oh.." he said, then "Oh! Alright, yes… I'm sure I'll see you again soon." With two steps forward, he had enveloped her in a warm hug, stroking her hair and just breathing in her essence. Katie thought to herself, 'this would be a lot better if it were coming from Severus..' then caught herself and shook those thoughts from her mind.

"Kate," Remus mumbled into her shoulder, "can you ever forgive me? For not being there to protect you?" his voice shook and he trembled slightly against her.

"Shh," Katie whispered and patted his back, "Don't worry, there's nothing I need to forgive you for. It's ok."

Pulling out of the hug, Remus stared at her and trailed a thumb down her cheek. "I thought… I thought I'd never see you again. Everybody believed you were dead and it was so hard to.. to believe you were still out there, still alive… and I'm babbling so I think I'll just shut up." He grinned and stepped back. "You look… beautiful. You look a lot like dad… but only with the girlish figure and all."

Katie giggled and blushed. A few minutes later, Remus had left and Katie brushed her hair and went down to the dungeons, where she found Severus in his office, refilling his tumbler with a large bottle of Ogdin's Famous Firewhiskey. 

He looked up at her with an odd expression, like he hadn't expected her to come, but thought she was extremely beautiful now that she was there. Katie sat down in the chair in front of his desk and filled a glass of her own.

"Firewhiskey?" she queried aloud and he nodded. 

"Well," he replied in a gruff, drunken tone, "what did you expect? Tea and crumpets?"

Giggling, Katie gazed at her tumbler uncertainly, then in one gulp, downed it. He stared at her in amazement and she glanced back.

"What?" she said.

Severus shook his head, still wide-eyed. "Drink a lot?" he replied, staring as she refilled her glass.

"Occasionally. There isn't a whole lot a witch can do in the Muggle world without a wand."

Severus seemed to take this in for a moment before nodding, and drinking his whiskey. Katie was watching him, wondering what seemed so different about him… it should have been obvious by now but… 

Then she saw it. Along his jawline, a large bruise was deepening to a dark violet, standing out against his pale skin. 

"So you and Remus… 'talked'… eh?" Katie asked, staring plainly at the bruise. Severus looked down to avoid her gaze and shrugged, not interested. 

"What happened?"

"Nothing. We had a little discussion, that's all. Now… you tell me… why is he so interested in you?" At this, Severus jerked his head up and stared Katie in the eye, demanding an answer.

"What do you mean" She wasn't going to play this game. He wasn't going to avoid her questions and expect her to answer his. 

"Why, pray tell, did Remus corner me in the dungeons and demand that I explain what was 'going on' between myself and you? Why did he seem so insistent to intimidate me into not talking to you anymore? What is going on here?" Severus set his glass down, his voice steadily rising. He looked angry, and a muscle in the corner of his mouth twitched. 

"He… He told you not to talk to me anymore?"

He shrugged in response, and took a swig from his drink. "Does it matter? The point was made. He doesn't want me to talk to you anymore. And where do you get off talking to him? Do you even know what he is? Who his friends were?"

Now Katie was the angry one. She stood up. The hand holding her drink was trembling. "Who," she spoke clearly and sternly, her voice etched with danger, "are you to tell me who I can and cannot associate with? I am damn old enough to decide who I want to be friends with and nobody, and I mean NOBODY, is going to tell me otherwise."

At this, Katie slammed her glass down on his desk. He stared at her in shock, not replying. As she turned to leave, a thought came to her and she paused. 

"Severus, while I went to Hogwarts, countless people asked me why I was even friends with you, why I would associate myself with someone who was obviously going to be a Death Eater. You know what I told them? I told them that I wanted to be friends with you, that you accepted who I was even when they didn't. Now, you can't accept who I want to be friends with? I'm sorry… Severus… I'm really sorry. I can't be friends with you if you can't handle me being friends with Remus as well."

As the door closed behind her, Severus broke out of his trance. "Katie! Katie, wait!" but she had already left. 'Damn' he thought to himself. Well… if she didn't want to be friends with him, that was fine with him.

That night, Katie couldn't sleep. She'd dozed a couple times, but thoughts of Severus always crept back into her mind. Eventually, she got tired of tossing and turning, and sat up. The clock near her bed said it was almost 2 in the morning.

Katie sighed and stretched, then stood up. Outside, the moon cast a misty glow over the grounds, illuminating the lake. Not a soul could be seen; even Hagrid's hut was dark. 

Pulling a heavy blue cloak over her dark nightgown, she headed out of her bedroom, quietly stepping down the halls, and out to the lake where she found a nice, quiet spot under a tree. She sat down, leaning back against the rough bark, and stared across the glittering water. 

From his window on the third floor, Remus watched her leave, having heard her footsteps down the hallway as she left. He leaned against the draperies of his window, while she crossed the grounds in her loafers and cloak, and then when she sat down, he grabbed his cloak, heading out as well.

Katie sighed and rested her forehead on her bent knees. Life used to be so simple, she thought. It used to be just school, homework, and Severus. Remus had been too busy with his friends and life to really spend any time with her, but that had been fine, because it would have made others suspicious. A Slytherin hanging around the best friend of the most popular Gryffindor? Neither of them would have ever gotten any peace then.

But now… Dumbledore was pressing her to remember what happened the night she disappeared. Severus wasn't talking to her, but she didn't want to talk to him either, (though, that was a lie,) and Remus…

She had to keep those two apart, if they had indeed fought like she suspected. As a Muggle, at least she had been certain about her future. She knew where she would be in a year, or at least she thought she did. Now everything was different. 

Behind her, a twig snapped. Katie jerked her head around, her wand pointing at the source of the sound. "Who-… Remus?"

He stood there, smiling tiredly. "What are you doing out here this late, Kate?"

Pocketing her wand, Katie turned back towards the lake and shrugged. "Sitting… thinking."

"I see"

He came and sat down next to her. "Anything wrong?"

She shook her head, her dark hair falling over her shoulders in soft waves. "Not really…. Nothing really important, that is."

"Everything's important."

Katie sighed again and toyed with the edge of her cloak. "Severus… he and I had a fight."

"Oh." He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it in a brotherly fashion. "You may not think I understand, but I do. I know how close you two were… and even still are."

"You don't know… nobody does…" Katie chuckled quietly, then turned to face Remus. His light brown eyes stared into hers and he waited for her to explain. 

"We're… telepathers. We can speak to each other telepathically. We've been able to do it ever since the first day of school." 

Remus blinked and opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to change his mind and closed it again. 

"I know what you're thinking, and no, he didn't know where I was when I disappeared. We lost touch after school, and I don't think he even knew anything happened."

After a moment, Remus nodded. "I understand." He said in an oddly choked voice. "But, why didn't you tell me before? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Katie shrugged and looked away. "It really wasn't something we could go around publicizing. And I didn't really tell you because your friends already hated Severus enough. I mean, I don't blame you, but really… could you have understood then? Could you, would you have accepted it?"

Remus stared at her, shocked. Obviously he hadn't thought of it this way. As a boy, no, he wouldn't have been mature enough to understand it at all, and James and Sirius definitely would have tried to take advantage of it. "You're right," he finally admitted, "What did you and Severus fight about?"

Her dark blue eyes flickered in a brief show of pain, then she glanced away. "We ah…" she sighed. "You. We fought about you. He didn't want me to talk to you."

"Why not? What does it matter to him?"

"He doesn't know that we're related, and he thinks you're … well… like Sirius and James. He thinks you're going to hurt me, or get me into trouble. You know what Severus is like, always suspicious and hardly forgiving." At this, Katie looked towards the castle and sighed. She didn't dare talk to Severus now, after what she said to him. How could one take back words like that? 'I didn't mean it when I said I didn't want to be friends with you.' ? That sounded so stupid, even in her head. She would just have to wait for him to come around and apologize for what he said about Remus. 

The week passed by quickly, and soon it was the first day of school again. Severus still hadn't apologized, and Katie had taken to spending a lot of time with Remus, talking about his life since school. He'd told her a lot about Sirius, and what had happened two years ago, with Sirius escaping from Azkaban. He'd written to Sirius, explaining how Kate had been his sister, and told him about her coming back and all. 

They arranged to meet at Remus's house where Sirius had been laying low, around Holloween.

Katie sat nervously at the Head Table, between Remus and Professor McGonagall's empty chair, four seats away from Severus, who looked more ill-tempered than she'd ever seen him as an adult. She understood immediately why the children at Diagon Alley had avoided him like they had.

Twice, she'd caught Severus looking at her, and countless other times, felt his gaze. Maybe he was ready to apologize? 

Harry sat next to Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table, staring up at the Head Table in surprise. "They didn't start a new subject this year, did they?" he asked Hermione, who scanned the list of subjects in her letter. 

"Nope! I wonder who she is." Hermione glanced over at Ron, who was not looking up at the Head Table, but over at the Slytherins. "I dunno," he replied distractedly, "but the Slytherins don't look too happy to see Lupin, do they?" He pointed at Malfoy, who looked positively furious.

The Slytherins were all glaring at the Head Table in disgust, but the other houses didn't seem to mind much at the return of Lupin. They were all talking like normal, and some of them seemed equally curious as Hermione and Harry at who the woman next to Lupin was. 

"Maybe she's Lupin's wife!" one of the younger Gryffindors down the table exclaimed. "Don't be stupid," Ron shot back. "He's not married!"

But then, in a quieter voice, he turned to Harry, "Is he? Really, I mean, I didn't think he was, but wouldn't Sirius say something?"

Harry shook his head. "Sirius would have definitely said something. That girl's not his wife. Besides, he's a werewolf. Who'd marry a werewolf?"

Before they could further speculate, all the lights went out except for the floating candles above the tables. Everybody turned to face the Great Hall doors, and the nervous first years being led in by a stern looking Professor McGonagall. Filch followed them, carrying a three-legged stool and the Sorting Hat. It was patched and worn as usual, and Filch sat it down in front of the Head Table, then turned and bowed to the Headmaster. 

A few of the students whispered then a rip appeared in the brim of the hat. As with every other year, it's song was long and impressive, and when it finished, the students all clapped; more out of habit than appreciation.

Amid whispers, Professor McGonagall unrolled a long parchment to read the names of the first years. 

"I can't figure out who she is!" Hermione whispered, frusterated. She had been going over her school letters, and teachers lists in search of mention of a new female teacher. "It doesn't mention any assistants or teachers, so she must be somebody's relative or something. Maybe she's Dumbledore's daughter…"

"That doesn't explain why Snape keeps looking at her. Maybe she's Snape's wife." Harry suggested.

Ron choked on his glass of water and spit it out over the table, to the disgust of a couple third years. "Snape?! Married? That's even more unlikely than Lupin being married! And besides, why wouldn't she be sitting by Snape if they were married?"

Hermione shrugged as the last of the students got sorted. "If it means so much to you, why don't we go up and ask them when dinner is over?"

Ron stared at her as if she was crazy but Harry glanced up at the Head Table just in time to see Snape shoot a dirty look at Lupin, who just ignored it. "Alright, we'll go up and ask."

Just then, Dumbledore stood up for his speech.

"I want to welcome you back from summer break, hoping you're all fresh and ready for a year of books, teachers and in some cases," he glanced at Fred and George, "detentions."

A few students snickered and Fred feigned shock. "Who, us?" he laughed.

"Continuing on, I would like to announce the return of our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin."

Some students clapped, but a few of the Slytherins just scowled and whispered amongst themselves. 

"Because of recent developments… err.. particularly concerning Voldemort," a few students gasped, "there will be very few Hogsmeade trips, and what trips we do allow will be closely supervised. I am sure you all understand these added precautions." He glanced around to the other teachers. "I think that's about it." Then, waving his hand in a grand gesture across the hall, he smiled and sat down. Immediately, the plates filled with food. 

Katie couldn't eat, though. She was lost in her memories of her Sorting. The day couldn't have more different. Instead of the bright sunshine outside today, they'd had a horrible rainstorm, with wind howling all around, blowing most of the boats off course. Professor McGonagall had come outside to help them get across, summoning the boats back on track with a flick of her wand.

"You will wait here," she told them all when they got inside, soaked from the rain. With that, McGonagall had turned and entered the Great Hall, leaving the dripping first years out in the hallway. 

After what seemed like ages, Professor McGonagall came back out. "Follow me, students, double-file. Hurry now…" She turned and entered the Great Hall, with all the water-logged students following her. 

"Kate," Katie heard her name whispered, and jerked out of her reverie. 

"Huh?" she turned to Remus to find him staring at her with a very odd expression. 

"You ok?"

Nodding, she turned back to her food, which had grown slightly colder than she would have liked. 

Remus seemed satisfied, though, and turned back to his plate. This gave Katie a chance to think again about the moment the Sorting Hat touched her head.

*************************************************************

Aaaaannd.. I think I'll leave it at that for now! Muahaha. I will tell you, though, next chapter will answer some questions about Katie's roots, plus we'll hopefully get a Katie/Malfoy confrontation. The Sorting Hat's remarks will interest you, if you're curious as to what/who Katie really is in this story. 

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and also Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._


	6. The Sorting Hat

**The Ties That Bind (6/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate/Katie are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay? Corvus the raven came from J.L. Matthews… a great idea, if you ask me.

Credits at bottom.

(This chapter will start out with Katie remembering her Sorting, if you get confused about it.)

CHAPTER SIX 

The chatter of the students had quieted down considerably, replaced by the clatter of silverware and cups as they ate. Katie merely poked her corn with her fork, staring off into space. 

She had been almost terrified on the day of her own Sorting, not knowing where she wanted to end up. Most of the other students had it all worked out, having decided on a house long before they arrived. Severus definitely hadn't looked half as nervous as she was, but then, he seemed pretty adept at keeping his emotions well hidden, even at the age of 10.

Seeing the expression on her face, Severus had squeezed her hand and gave her a supportive smile. 

_You ok?_ He'd asked her, and she nodded.  
  


_Nervous, but yes._

They stood in silence as the Sorting Hat sang its song, then exchanged glances as the first student, "Avery, Marcus", got sorted into Slytherin, and frowned when "Black, Sirius" was called up. He strutted forward and gave the crowd a mischievous smirk before the hat fell down over his face. For a few long minutes, everybody waited. Then… "GRYFFINDOR!!!" the hat shouted, and he pulled it off. 

Eventually, "Hillian, Kate" was called up by McGonagall. Severus had given her arm a friendly squeeze before she walked over to the stool. Perched on top of it, the last thing she saw before the hat covered her eyes was everybody, including Severus, looking at her. 

_Hello there._ Katie started. At first, she thought it was Severus speaking, but this voice was much different, older…

_Hi,_ she thought back, at no one in particular. At least she'd learned some control over her thinking since she got on the train.

_My, my, my… You're going to be a tough one to place… _the hat said thoughtfully. __

You've got quite a bit of bravery in you…though with enough sense to know when to show it. Not foolhardy enough to get caught up in those silly adventures like the other Gryffindors… no… Hmm..

Something her grandmother had told her came back to her then. "You've got quite a bit of mixed blood in you, youngin… and if I'm not mistaken, it will come in handy."

The hat must have caught this because he suddenly said _Oh! Oh my… Interesting, very interesting. You are… the Last Prodigy…._

_The what?_ Katie started and began to absent-mindedly wring her hands in her lap.

The Last Prodigy, child. It's someone with mixed blood from the four Founders. If I'm not mistaken… you have in you the blood from Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor,… and most recently, Rowena Ravenclaw. But none from Salazar Slytherin…? That's odd..

Katie perused this and found it made almost perfect sense. Her grandmother on her father's side liked to brag about her Gryffindor ancestors, saying that a bit of Hufflepuff blood had made its way in to the bloodlines a long time ago. 

But the hat was talking again, and she snapped back to attention.

Definitely cunning enough, clever… yes… and ambitious for certain things…But certainly, the Last Prodigy… 

She had been under the hat for quite some time now, and was growing nervous. Hufflepuff didn't sound too bad, from the song the Hat had sung,… and neither did Slytherin, but Gryffindor? From all the Gryffindor's she'd seen, they looked like a bit on the rowdy, foolish kind. The hat seemed to catch onto her thinking immediately.

_Not Gryffindor, eh? Well, I can understand that. They would only bring you down into trouble. Now Hufflepuff… no.. you would be stuck working too much to actually reach your true potential. And if the prophecy is true… better be _"SLYTHERIN!!!"

Katie didn't have time to ask about the "prophecy" before the hat was pulled off of her head and she was faced with the whole school staring at her strangely. Moving down to the Slytherin House Table, she managed to catch a few of the whispers. 

"Doesn't look like the evil type, does she?"

"I would have thought she'd be a Hufflepuff, or at least a Ravenclaw.."

"You saw her hanging around Severus Snape, though, didn't you? Don't have to ask where he'll end up… All the Snapes have been Slytherins."

At the table, almost all the Slytherins turned to stare at her, but thankfully they weren't whispering. 

_Katie?_ She started. It was Severus again, and she turned in her seat to see him looking back at her with the other first years.

_I'm ok, Sev. Just… What's a Last Prodigy?_

_A what?_ Severus looked as confused as she felt and she shrugged. 

_Never mind._ Feeling a different set of eyes on her, Katie turned and noticed Professor Dumbledore staring at her, his light blue eyes reflecting something she couldn't decipher. After a moment, though, he looked away and Katie heard "Snape, Severus!" being called.

Turning back, she saw him step warily up to the stool, and sit down, catching her eye for the split second before the hat dropped down.

A few brief moments later, and the hat was shouting "SLYTHERIN!!", sending Severus her way. He sat down beside her, and grinned slightly. 

"Hey," he said quietly, and she nodded. "Hey back."

Katie didn't mention Last Prodigies or prophecies ever again, figuring if he had never heard of it, it must not have been that important. But she never stopped wondering what the Hat could have meant…

"Umm.. Professor Lupin?" the timid voice jerked her out of her reverie and she looked up from her untouched plate. The dark haired boy from Diagon Alley stood in front of her, with his red-headed friend standing nervously behind him. 

Remus looked over, politely ending his conversation with Flitwick. "Yes, Harry?"

"I was, uh, wondering…" Harry mumbled and avoided Katie's eyes as she studied him, trying to figure out who he reminded her of. He leaned in to talk to Remus more privately, and Katie looked over at the red-haired boy who smiled back.

"Professor, Ron and I were wondering who the woman sitting next to you was." Harry whispered, and glanced over at Katie. She stared back innocently, pretending to not have heard him. 

"Ah.. well.." 

Was it Harry's imagination or was Professor Lupin suddenly looking nervous? Remus glanced at Katie, then down the table further to Snape, who was busy glaring at nothing.

"She's… a good friend of mine from school." Remus sat back in his chair and gestured to Harry. "Kate, this is Harry Potter, and his friend Ron Weasley. Ron, Harry, this is Kate Hillian. She and I went to school together." He didn't bother to mention that they'd been in different houses, but already he felt bad enough for lying about their relationship.

It seemed to satisfy the boys, though, because they both shook Katie's hand before returning to their table. After they had left, Katie stood up. 

"I'm going to go back to my room." She said, not looking at Remus, but at Severus. She glanced down at Remus, who stared up at her worriedly.

"Of course. But aren't you hungry?" Katie had gotten thinner the past week since arguing with Snape, and paler too. Remus imagined it had affected her more than he thought.

"No.. not really." Katie replied, looking back down the table at Severus still, who glanced back, his expression unreadable. She wanted so much just to talk to him again, but he still hadn't apologized. How much longer would she have to wait?

Snape stared felt Katie's eyes on him and he glanced up. The dark circles under her eyes stood out brightly against her paled skin, and her hands seemed to shake slightly when she moved. She looked ill, almost like Lupin did after the full moon. Looking away, he considered all the possibilities for her appearance. Maybe she was sick? 'Hmm…' he thought to himself. If she was, Madam Pomfrey would most likely know. He made a mental note to ask her next time he had the chance.

Halfway up the staircase, Katie stumbled and hit the steps hard. Her hands against the cold cement, she stayed there for a few minutes, breathing hard and just trying not to black out like before. She knew it was wrong not to eat or sleep, but she just couldn't. Every time she tried to sleep these days, she just ended up staring at the ceiling, thinking about Severus, or just fighting back tears of pure frustration. And eating… she didn't even have an appetite these days, and couldn't figure it out. In the mornings, she forced herself to eat something, lunch and dinner usually went unnoticed. 

Voices echoed from around the corner and Katie turned, pulling herself up to a standing position. 

"Well you know what you can do if you don't like it, Potter?"

"What's that?"

"You can take it and cram it!"

Katie sighed.

"What did you say to me?"

"You heard me, Potter, or is your hearing failing you like your common sense?"

BAM! Sparks flew in front of Katie and she waited a second before peering around the corner. What she saw made her smirk in amusement. About ten feet away, two boys were wrestling on the floor, and another boy, the red-haired one from before (Ryan? Ron? She couldn't remember) was being pummeled in the stomach by another taller, stronger boy. 

"Ahem!" she said loudly, but nobody seemed to take notice. By now, a few other students had gathered and were cheering. A few seconds later and…

"STOP IT! STOP NOW!!" Filch ran towards the group and they immediately dispersed, except for the fighting ones, who were now staring at him with a stunned expression.

"Fighting in the halls, are we? And on the first day of school? Up with you, Potter, and you too, Malfoy! Get up now!" he managed to pull the tall boy off of the red-haired one, cuffing him around the neck. 

"Detentions for all of you! Fighting! Honestly! Now, we shall see what Snape has to say about this!" A mad glint appeared in his eyes as he started pulling the taller boy down the hall. The others hesitated reluctantly before following him. Halfway down the hall, there was a huge crashing sound from above. Then, a high-pitched cackle. 

"PEEVES!!" Filch practically screamed and let go of the tall boy. "I've got you now, Peeves!" he seemed to forget about the boys as he ran towards the stairs at the end of the hall, and disappeared.

The Potter boy looked at his red-haired friend in confusion, and a pale-faced blond boy turned to the taller boy, then to Katie.

"Are you a new teacher?" he asked, a slight sneer playing at the corners of his mouth. 

"Maybe." Katie smirked and glanced around, "You boys better go before somebody turns up. And you," she reached out to poke Malfoy in the shoulder as he turned to walk away. "You've got a cut on your eyebrow that you'll want to clean up before going back to your common rooms. Here," Katie pulled out her wand and stepped forward, to which Malfoy stepped backwards hesitantly.

"I won't hurt you, I was going to get rid of the cut. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Malfoy seemed to size her up before tilting his head. "Fine. Get on with it." Harry merely stared at them in shock as Katie tapped Malfoy's eyebrow with her wand, and the cut disappeared, leaving a bit of smudged blood that stood out against his light skin and hair. 

"There," she said quietly, and turned to leave. "You boys better go."

They didn't need telling twice. She heard them run off as she started back up the steps. At the top, Severus was waiting for her. 

"Well, well, well…." He said quietly, and stared at her with a smirk plastered across his face.

Katie sighed. She was in no mood to deal with this now. Obviously he'd seen her helping those boys, and knew she had deliberately sent them off without punishment. 

"Don't you think Filch will wonder what happened to them when he gets back?" Severus glanced at the bottom of the steps, where a couple second year girls chatted, oblivious to their presence. 

Shrugging, Katie stared at her hands. "If he even remembers to come back." She started past him, but he reached out and caught her arm, which felt oddly thin in his grasp.

"Katie," he whispered, and searched her eyes when she finally looked at him. 

"What, Severus? What?" Her dark blue eyes were cold, emotionless, and he could see up close how much life had gone out of them. 

"I…" It was so much easier to apologize to himself in the mirror, but now, words just wouldn't come. "I wanted… I…"

Katie rolled her eyes and sighed. She pulled her arm out of her grasp, with what seemed like much effort, and walked away without another word. He watched her go, still struggling with the apology that wouldn't come. 

In her bedroom, Katie finally collapsed, laying against the soft comforter on her bed. It had been hard enough, walking away from Severus like that, but fighting back the tears of exhaustion was becoming an even harder task. Eventually she must have blacked out because several hours, she awoke with a pounding headache, shivering in the cold night air. 

Katie rolled over and pointed her wand at the fireplace, managing to get out a simple fire spell, then pushed herself up to sit against the pillows. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. After a few minutes, she stumbled out of her quarters and down to the Infirmary, where she was given a goblet of Sleeping Draught and a place to sleep. 

"Are you sure she's going to be ok?" Remus sat stiffly in his chair, turned towards the fireplace where Madam Pomfrey's head was floating in the flames.

"Positive, but I honestly can't see how no one told me she was this ill! Did any of you know she wasn't eating or sleeping?" The mediwitch's face was screwed up in worry, anger and frustration. Remus shook his head.

"I knew she was looking a bit off, but she always ate breakfast with me, so I thought everything was ok. I just figured she had a nightmare or couldn't sleep."

"Yes well, her condition was pretty bad. I was surprised she made it to dinner, or even to the Infirmary. She's sleeping now, and I'll be seeing to it that she eats when she wakes up." Her face softened a bit and she sighed. "Poor girl, I wonder what's bothering her…" With that, she said goodbye and disappeared, leaving Remus to his thoughts for a moment, before he left too.

A few minutes later, a knock on his office door caused Severus to look up from his class plans. 

Who would be bothering him now? It was nearing 10 pm, and he wasn't expecting anyone. "Come in," he muttered, setting his quill down.

Remus stepped in, ignoring the glare from Severus as he did. He walked over to the Potion Master's desk and sat down in one of the wooden chairs in front of it, uninvited. 

"Severus, we need to talk."

************************************************************

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and also Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._


	7. Making Up

**The Ties That Bind (7/?)**

By: Shendra

Shendraz421@aol.com

Category: Romance/Mystery/Drama

Keywords: Snape, Voldemort, Draco, telepathy, 7th year

Rating: R

Spoilers: All four Books

Summary: _An old friend falls back into Snape's life, only to mysteriously disappear again. Voldemort returns, demanding loyalty this time around. Will he ever be defeated? Will Kate ever be found? Will Snape ever get laid?_

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Kevin and Kate/Katie are mine, so if you want to use them, let me know first, mmkay? Corvus the raven came from J.L. Matthews… a great idea, if you ask me.

Credits at bottom.

CHAPTER SEVEN 

Severus leaned back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest defensively. He stared at Lupin unsympatheticly while the man struggled with words.

"Spit it out, Lupin." He spat, glaring at the waste of time.

"Kate is sick. Very sick, from what Madam Pomfrey told me." Remus sighed and ran a hand through his short brown hair, and stared down at his lap. Worry lines creased his forehead and he looked quite downtrodden.

"Sick? How so?" Trying to look unconcerned, Severus didn't move. Or at least, tried not to. His hand twitched anxiously at the mention of Katie and he covered it with his other hand.

"She's… she hasn't been eating. Or sleeping for that matter. And I think I know why." At this, Remus looked up and met Severus's cold gaze with his weary one. At first, Severus merely stared back at him, expressionless, but then, his cool exterior melted into a troubled one. 

"Not.. Why do you think she wouldn't be eating or sleeping?" Part of him knew for certain that he was the reason she was sick, the other part of him wanted to deny it, wanted to say it was just the stress of adjusting. The look on Lupin's face, a gentle but accusing look, confirmed the former.

"You and her had an argument a week ago, is that right?"

Severus nodded but admitted nothing more.

"At first, I didn't really notice. I thought it wasn't a very big deal to her, and figured you two would make up. But lately, and you may have noticed this too, she has been looking quite ill. Pale and trembling… and thin. A week of not eating has definetly taken it's toll on her." Remus sighed again and rubbed his eyes. 

"She's broken down in tears twice in the past two days, for no apparent reason. When I asked her about it, she just shrugged it off, said she was feeling a bit moody. But I should have picked up on it, should have seen the signs, Severus!" 

With a soft thump, Remus hit the desk with his hand. "Somebody should have, but now she's in the hospital wing, having passed out from sheer exhaustion and malnutrition. Madam Pomfrey says she's surprised that Kate even made it to dinner today, much less anywhere the past few days."

Severus had remained silent this whole time, struggling with keeping his feelings hidden. When he was sure the tone of his voice was controlled, he chanced another question. "Is she sleeping now?"

Remus nodded and looked down again. "She's taken some Sleeping Draught, and Poppy says she'll be fed when she wakes up. It might be a few days before she can leave the Infirmary, with all the sleep and food she's missed."

Severus took this all in. He nodded and stood up. Saying merely that he had things to do, and thanked Lupin for the information, he got rid of him and sat back down at his desk. Katie was sick. She was sick because of him. His stubborness and reluctance to apologize drove her to starve herself of sleep and food, and now it was his fault. 

'Damn it… damn it!' he cursed himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Tomorrow, classes would be in full swing. He'd gotten most of the preparing done, but there was still the last two classes to set up for. 

Just as he turned back to his planning, a voice in his head jarred his concentration.

_Severus?_

Katie's voice was soft and sounded quite weak, as if from far away.

Katie? I heard you were sick… 

_I don't know. I've been really tired lately but I haven't been able to… sleep… _ She seemed hesitant to talk about it, or maybe just tired. Either way, he didn't press her. It was just good to hear her voice. In his excitement, all thoughts of apologies slipped from his mind.

It's ok. Are you awake? 

_Kinda. I can hear Madam Pomfrey moving around, but I can't seem to open my eyes yet. _

Smiling slightly, Severus found himself imagining her laying in the Infirmary bed, her long shiny black hair standing out against the pure whiteness of the pillows, with that peaceful expression on her face that he remembered from the other times he'd seen her sleep. 

_I'll be up there in a bit. I've got to finish a few things first._

He glanced down at the schedule he'd been writing on. It would only take a few more minutes, and then he'd be able to leave, as long as Lupin didn't beat him there. 

Just as his quill touched the paper, Katie's soft voice came back one more time.

_Take your time, I'm not going anywhere. _

It wasn't an angry comment, or bitter, but he could tell she was still a little upset about his words against Lupin. What she saw in him, he would never understand, but if it made her happy…

Half an hour later, he hurried down the hall. It was getting late, and most of the students were in their common rooms anyways, settling back in for the new school year. It was a cool summer evening, so even the dungeons were pleasantly warm. Up the stairs, around the corner and down another corridor. He'd forgotten how isolated his office was, and began to regret being so far away from everything. 

Just past Dumbledore's office, and 100 paces from the hospital wing, a sharp pain shot through Severus's left arm, and he gasped in pain, stumbling to his knees. It was like fire and needles, shooting through his wrist. He clutched it tightly, breathing short, shallow breaths. A minute later, the pain was replaced by a slight tingling. Without even looking, Severus knew. The Dark Mark burned a bright black on his arm, signalling a request for his presence. 

He pushed himself up and dusted himself off, peering down the halls for anyone who might have seen him. Then, he turned around and walked quickly to the stone gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office.

****

Severus half walked, half ran to the Apparation point just outside the Hogwarts grounds. He'd stayed only long enough to tell Dumbledore he was leaving before taking off, knowing all too well that if he didn't appear soon at the Dark Lord's side, there would be hell to pay. 

*pop* He apparated from the warm grassy hill to a cold dungeon that he recognized as being Malfoy-owned. They were under the Malfoy mansion, in one of the rooms reserved for Voldemort's meetings. A dim glow was cast around the room by three torches along the gray stone walls, and the only piece of furniture in the room was a high-backed chair. Oak, with snakes carved into the arms, it was occupied by a robed figure Severus had no trouble recognizing. 

Voldemort. 

He sat stiffly, his thin, pale hands protruding from a set of simple black robes. With red eyes and slits for nostrils, one might think he looked more like a serpent than a human, but then, no one really knew what he was. He glared and Severus fell to his knees in worship.

"Master," he whispered, crawling towards the Lord, prepared for the worst of punishments. This was the second time he'd been in the Dark Lord's presence since the Tri-Wizard Tournament fiasco, and he'd gotten away lightly that time only because the Dark Lord's attention had been diverted by Karakoff's capture. 

Now… there were no distractions, nothing to save him.

"Severus… Ah Severus… My _faithful_ Potions master. You fall so quickly in worship to me now… but I have been hearing strange things, Severus. Do you know what I heard?"

Severus didn't dare look up, afraid to see the accusations in the Dark Lord's eyes. The other two Death Eaters in the room stood cloaked in darkness behind their Master's chair. He knew they would do nothing, say nothing to support Severus, or even help him in the slightest. 

Voldemort didn't seem to expect a reply, because he continued without a response from Severus. "Some say you are a traitor, Severus, and that you work for Dumbledore. Is this true?"

"No Master," Severus whispered, having already planned a response to this, "It is the other way around. Dumbledore trusts me, thinks I am working on his side when I am working for you instead."

"Ah.. but if it was only so easy, Severus. You see, I am wondering if the others are right. Maybe it was you that plotted my downfall 15 years ago? You knew the Potter boy would be protected, didn't you?" Voldemort's wand was lying in his lap, ready for dealing out punishments that Severus knew was unevitable.

"No, Master, I didn't. I am faithful to you, Master. If I wasn't, do you think I would return? I know the fate that awaits traitors… traitors like Karakoff." He was careful to spit the name out like it was an obscene word, making sure the Dark Lord noted his disgust. 

There was a minute's silence, then… "Alright, Severus. I will believe you. After all, I have no proof. And your tip to Karakoff's whereabouts were indeed helpful. I still need you, whether or not I like it. You're the most powerful Potion's Master out there…and the most well-placed Death Eater I have. I can't ignore how … _convenient_ your position at Hogwarts is. Especially when a certain wizard places to much trust in you…" A manic gleam flickered in his eye, and there was no doubt that he was talking about Dumbledore.

He lifted his wand from his lap, pointing it lightly at Severus's back. "But let me remind you what happens to those with whom I am disappointed. _Crucio."_

Severus screamed, and writhed on the ground, his body jerking and twitching in pain. Every nerve was on fire, being burned from the inside. Even the Dark Lord knew madness followed the Cruciatus Curse if applied for too long, and so he stopped. Only after being put under the curse three more times did Severus finally black out from the extreme pain. 

"Take him out." Voldemort ordered, and one of the Death Eaters levitated Severus's body out of the dungeons and out of sight.

A little while later, Severus awoke in a dark, damp cell, feeling very bruised and aching all over. He pushed himself up, using the last of his strength to disapparate back to Hogwarts and drag himself to the Entrance Hall, where he promptly collapsed. Hitting the concrete floor would have been extremely painful as well, if he hadn't already blacked out again.

***** 

Katie awoke with a start to the sound of screams in her head. She peered around the room, half expecting to see someone in there with her, but of course, it was empty. Even the usual glow from under Madam Pomfrey's office was absent, but that could just mean she was sleeping. For a moment, Katie toyed with the notion that the screams she heard were just from her imagination. They had seemed to real, so familiar, but yet… it could have been just a dream. Nightmares had become common, ever since she came back to Hogwarts. Usually, it was just the fear of death, no real scenery except that first one. She didn't have time to think about this, though, because at that moment, Madam Pomfrey appeared in the doorway, her face hidden, leading something in with her wand.

"Let's put him here," she whispered, gesturing to the bed on the other side of the curtain from Katie's bed. Katie listened silently, her face hidden in the shadows, as someone was placed on the bed gently, then covered up. Madam Pomfrey stepped back out into the hall, then, and her voice could only just be heard through the door. 

"Headmaster! I don't know what happened! I was in the office when one of the house elves came to tell me that Severus was lying beaten up in the Entrance Hall!"

Severus? Katie leaned over and pulled the curtains back revealing Severus's limp body, bruised and beaten. She let out a small gasp in surprise, weakly crawling off of her own bed to go to him. Kneeling low so she wouldn't be seen if Madam Pomfrey came back, she reached out to touch his face. Already, large bruises were appearing on his cheeks from where he'd thrashed against the hard floor in pain. Pushing back the hair hanging in his face, Katie fought back her tears. 

"Oh Severus," she whispered and caressed his skin. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

The Headmaster's quiet voice drifted in through the hall to where Katie knelt. "Severus was called again, Poppy… by Voldemort. As expected, Severus most likely suffered a punishment for his.. spying. Because he is still alive, though, we can assume that he was able to talk his way out of it. Will he be alright? Is there any lasting damage?"

"No, sir, no lasting damage. Mostly bruises, a sprained wrist, and his strength has been worn down greatly. Is there any way he'll be exempt from teaching tomorrow? It is the first day of classes."

Dumbledore sighed. "I don't know.. I really don't know. How much rest is he going to need?"

"Several hours, at least! I would suggest keeping him here for a few days, where I can monitor his health and make sure he is eating well."

"Of course, of course… Well… whatever you think is best." Katie heard the rustle of robes and concluded that the Headmaster must have left when Madam Pomfrey appeared back in the Infirmary. Luckily, she went to her storage room first, giving Katie enough time to scramble back into bed. 

Somehow, through the noise from Madam Pomfrey attempting to heal Severus, she managed to fall into a deep, worried sleep. It wasn't long, however, before she was awoken by a deep, harsh groan from the bed next to hers.

"Ohhhhh… God…" Severus was leaning forward with his head in his hands, breathing deeply. "What time is it?" he asked himself and looked up at the clock on his wall. "Eight!?!??" he screamed and jumped out of the bed, then ran to the door.

"Severus, wait!" Madam Pomfrey appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back into the Infirmary. "Severus, you can't leave! I know-" she said, interrupting his sputtering with a firm grip "it's the first day of classes, but Dumbledore said he would take care of it. Now," pulling him back to the bed, she ordered him to lay down. Surprisingly, he complied.

"Oh! You're awake too, are you?"

Katie nodded, then accepted the chocolate she was given. "When you finish," Madam Pomfrey told her, "You two will eat breakfast and rest a bit more." It wasn't a request.

They sat in silence when Madam Pomfrey left to get some food from the kitchens. Severus stared straight ahead, expressionless, feeling drained. The chocolate helped only minimally, giving him a warm, tingly feeling.

Katie, on the other hand, watched Severus carefully. His bruises and cuts were healed by the mediwitch, and now he just looked tired. And restless. She imagined it must haven taken a lot of self-control not to dash to his classroom the second Madam Pomfrey left, seeing as how Severus would rather eat glass than miss the first day of classes. 

But turning back to her previous thoughts, she remembered that Dumbledore had said Severus was called by Voldemort. Did that mean he was a Death Eater? Lupin had tried to explain the details of Voldemorts reign, since she had been missing all throughout it, but a lot of it, even he didn't understand. Making up her mind, Katie quickly finished the last of her chocolate and turned in her bed to face Severus.

"Sev… I uh..Were you a-"

But he cut her off. "Katie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the things I said about Lupin, and I'm sorry for trying to control you." He sighed as if a large weight had been taken off his chest, and looked down at his hands. "I wanted to tell you yesterday, but.. I just felt really bad about it all. I knew I shouldn't have said those things, but I was too stubborn to just take it all back. I hope you can forgive me."

Katie stared at him, shocked. This was so…. Not-Snape. If she didn't know better, she'd think Voldemort's "punishments" had affected his brain. 

Sitting up, he still looked at his hands but spoke quietly again, "I know I've been an ass about all this, and I don't know why it took me so long to realise it or to apologize, but I really am sorry." Now he looked up, a mixture of fear and sadness in his gaze. "You're one of the very few friends I have left, please understand."

Katie looked back at him like he had been speaking a foreign language, and for all that mattered, he might as well have been. He'd never been good at apologies, or begging, or even caring, and had never even found a reason to, until now. She had given him her time, her attention, and even her efforts (which came in large amounts in Transfigurations), but in return, he'd insinuated she was weak and stupid for choosing to be friends with the werewolf. Ugh, what a mistake. How could he have known she'd react like Lupin had? 

His thoughts were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey coming back with two house elves in tow, both carrying large plates of food. Even before they'd set the plates down, Madam Pomfrey was ordering them to eat.

"You will eat and then you'll both rest! No buts!" She shook her finger at them in a strange, motherly gesture, then disappeared into her office. Katie didn't reply to either her or Severus before digging into her food hungrily. Severus merely poked at it with his fork and then looked up at Katie.

Sensing his eyes on her as she ate, she sighed and put down her fork. Looking up at him, she met those same weary black eyes. 

"Severus, I forgive you. Now eat. You're starting to look as pasty as Professor Binns."

He smirked. "Professor Binns is a ghost."

"Yeah and you'll be one too if you starve yourself." She grinned at him, and picked up her fork again. "Severus, I.. well, I do love you as a friend, and I don't want to see you endure Madam Pomfrey's wrath, so please eat."

She'd said she loved him. Those words stuck in Severus's head, filed away in his nearly-empty good memory section. Granted, she'd added the words "as a friend" to the end of it, but it was still love. Love that he could slowly twist into something more- 'Stop it.' He ordered himself. He couldn't keep thinking like that, for more than one reason. If he fell in love with her… she would be in danger, it would most likely ruin their friendship, he had too much on his mind and in his life to handle any love life, and with all that had happened already, he could never be the man she deserved. He had nothing to give her. Nothing. 

At this, he frowned and glared at his plate, then began to eat.

************************************************************

_Credits go to the parties mentioned above, and also Cassandra Claire and J.L. Matthews, whose stories I've been reading lately, so if any of their quotes, ideas, or even characters make their way into here, it's their fault for writing their stories in such a way that it makes a permanent indent in your mind. Go read the Slytherin Rising stories by J.L. Matthews, and the Draco trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Go read them now and you WON'T be disappointed! So thank you, girls, for writing those wonderful, awesome, great stories and not being mad if any hint of those stories makes it into mine. In fact, if anyone wants to believe that I took my ideas for this story from them, that's fine, because they're wonderful writers, and to think that I am even close to being as good as them is an honor._

Thanks goes out to BondageZebra, Weiss145 and Shirley for their suggestions and help with all of the past chapters, and hopefully for many more chapters after this.

Next chapter: Katie and Severus are friends again, but how long will that last? School will be in full swing, and Holloween is in two months. We'll see the excitement build up and Katie's bonds with Severus strengthen.


End file.
